 Franklin was one of the Swans' best players during the finals series, despite only contributing seven goals across the four finals, and was among their best players in the 2016 AFL Grand Final loss to the Western Bulldogs.Franklin was named in the 2016 All-Australian team, his sixth selection and his third as centre half-forward.By season's end, he was the twelfth-highest goalkicker in VFL/AFL history, having overtaken greats such as Wayne Carey, Peter Hudson, Stephen Kernahan, Barry Hall and Kevin Bartlett during the home-and-away season.