John Franklin-Myers Did His Homework Before Joining the Broncos via Trade

The Denver Broncos are happy to have John Franklin-Myers in the fold.

Nov 6, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers (91) reacts after sacking Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) during a football game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos' low-cost trade for veteran defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers looks quite shrewd, especially when you factor in his replacement on the New York Jets, Haason Reddick, has failed to report to the team.

Jets GM Joe Douglas might well have backed the wrong horse as things currently stand. Broncos head coach Sean Payton is more than happy to come out on the right side of the trade.

"Each year, consistently you saw the numbers, the numbers, the numbers," Payton said of Franklin-Myers on Tuesday. "It was kind of like you couldn't even imagine how close they were. Now it came through power rush, bull rush or took an edge."

Payton believes that Franklin-Myers' core strengths won't be evident until the pads get strapped on, which is a particularly juicy proposition for the training camp battles to come.

"He's a powerful player," Payton said. "I would say you grade or look at his pressure statistics over the last four years or five years, it's pretty interesting. They're very consistent across the board. So you see a very consistent player, but again during these drills you're not able to necessarily see that."

Franklin-Myers is still only 27 years old, but he has plenty of experience to help guide the younger players upfront which Payton has committed to of late. Payton also talked about finding some guys who can help him build the right culture, and Franklin-Myers might be one of them.

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"Hopefully more than less," Payton said of having 'glue' type guys on his roster. "I think when we talk about a player, at some point we talk about what kind of teammates he is. Does he endear himself to others? I think it's an important trait. You get to a point where pretty soon when we're upstairs talking about a player, we ask ourselves, 'Are the guys downstairs going to like the fact that we brought this player in? In other words, there is a responsibility that we have to bring those types of players they're expecting. That's when you're building that culture you're talking about and that everyone is looking for."

Franklin-Myers missed the very start of the Broncos' offseason workouts on account of some personal business he had to attend to in his home state of Texas. But since the former Jets standout touched down in Denver, it's clear he already sees the bigger picture of what he will be asked to do.

"It's been good. It's new. You go to a new team and you understand that it's not just football, it's everything else outside of that," Franklin-Myers said on Tuesday. "Learning the defense, understanding where to take my shots and understanding how to help my teammates be better and how they can help me be better is the challenge."

Having a dedicated professional in the trenches is a refreshing change. The idle words and general malaise displayed by the likes of Randy Gregory and Frank Clark only brought dysfunction to the team early last season.

"Showing up is the first step and here I am getting the chance to work with these guys each and every day," Franklin-Myers said. "I'm looking forward to continuing to get better with these guys, learn each other, understand strengths and weaknesses and grow off that. [Just] continue to push the offense and ultimately win some games when it is time."

Moving forward, Payton is intent on mixing his burgeoning youth movement alongside Franklin-Myers within a rotation that could be plenty deep if everyone stays healthy. On that particular note, sheer availability has always been one of Franklin-Myers' strong suits, and after things ended in New York the way they did, he's also highly motivated.

"As far as the trade, the Jets traded for Haason [Reddick] and reached out to us and told us to see what we could find," Franklin-Myers said. "From there, you get the chance to have your conversations and do what you need to do. Denver came up and shoot, what an opportunity I had. I talked to the coaches and talked to the staff members. I just heard the vision, heard what they wanted to do for me, how I could help this team and the opportunity that was presented. To play for Coach Sean Payton, I couldn't pass that up. You talk about the defense they run and putting guys in good positions, that's what I'm looking forward to. I'm looking forward to going out there with them and playing physical."

Like all good trades, only the long haul will provide the ultimate proof in the pudding. In the meantime, Franklin-Myers ticks a whole lot of boxes from the get-go, not least of which is the sheer flexibility he provides upfront for his new team.

"Yeah and I had an idea," Franklin-Myers said. "I played in a 4-3 front for five years or four years now. It was a little different because you do not know how someone is going to play you, but once I talked to him and understood what the assignment was, then I was on board. I'm locked in. [It is] a chance to grow as a person, as a football player and as a teammate, I couldn't pass that up."

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