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Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — With the subtractions to the Denver Broncos‘ wide receiver room, the team hopes — as in really hopes — second-year wideout Marvin Mims Jr. can make the biggest impact.
The Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy, a 2020 first-round pick, in March, and Courtland Sutton, who led the team with 10 touchdown receptions last year, has not attended any part of the team’s offseason program. Mims, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as a rookie returner in 2023, is expected to be far busier and far more impactful in the Broncos’ offense this season.
“If I take care of my business out here, it will go to the games,” Mims said after Thursday’s OTA practice. “For the most part, looking forward to it, but just handling my business here, eventually when we get there in the fall, we’ll get there.”
One of the great mysteries in the Broncos’ offensive struggles last season was why Mims didn’t simply play more. Mims was a second-round pick that repeatedly created big plays in Year 1 despite his limited opportunities for a team that seemed to be constantly in search of a spark.
Of the Broncos’ seven pass plays of at least 47 yards last season, Mims had four of them, two in Week 2 alone. And yet by season’s end, Mims, who led the team at 17.1 yards per catch, had played just 384 (38%) of the team’s offensive snaps, ranking fifth among the wide receivers.
“I’ve said this and I’ll say it again, [the coaches] were as much responsible — I don’t want to say holding [Mims] back — but man, you’re trying to get snaps for [Jeudy] and you’re trying to get snaps for [Sutton] and so I think we’ll see a lot of growth from Year 1 to Year 2,” coach Sean Payton said. “[Mims] is tough. … We know he’s a good returner. … We saw transitional speed, we saw the things you need to see at the receiver position.”
Denver’s roster review after last season has cleared the way for Mims to have bigger opportunities. Payton routinely said last season that Jeudy and Mims largely played the same spot in the Broncos’ scheme.
So when Denver sent Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March, it came with the expectation that Mims would absorb most of Jeudy’s snaps.
“I don’t think it was his development … as much as trying to create touches for those [other] guys,” Payton said of last season’s rotation. “And now we have a room, we have a lot of young players … I’m anxious as we go through this process to watch those guys.”
“It’s kind of tough,” Mims said of the Jeudy trade. “Coming in as a rookie last year, Jerry looked out for me, taught me a lot, was great being in the room with him. But with him going to Cleveland … wishing him all the best, whatever happens here, happens here.”
With Sutton’s absence during the voluntary portion of the team’s offseason program as he seeks a contract adjustment, Mims’ potential importance in the offense has been on full display.
Even as the Broncos have dispersed the snaps at quarterback among Jarrett Stidham, rookie Bo Nix and Zach Wilson, Mims has clearly shown his potential impact. On Thursday, he made one of the biggest plays in OTAs when Stidham hit Mims for a touchdown in team drills.
“Incredible ball … didn’t have to break stride,” Mims said of the play that brought many of his teammates sprinting toward the end zone to celebrate with him.
Mims’ Pro Bowl nod came after he averaged 16.4 yards per punt return to go with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. But his 22 receptions last season will be more closely aligned to a good month’s work in the coming season if things go as he and the Broncos hope.
“Coming into Year 2, knowing what to expect, knowing the routes, knowing what I have to do as a receiver, I feel like it’s going a lot smoother,” Mims said. “[It’s like] night and day.”
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