Caleb Harris
One of the most underrated and interesting decisions of the last offseason came in the 2023 second round NFL Draft. Without a first-round pick, Marvin Mims Jr. earned the tag of the Denver Broncos’ top overall selection that year and the first pick of the Sean Payton era at Mile High.
What made the pick interesting was the fact that Denver already had a solid crop of wide receivers led by Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. This proved to be a logjam for Mims during his rookie season, as he was limited to just 377 yards and one touchdown in 16 games (seven starts). Fast forward a year, however, and Jeudy was traded to Cleveland, which paves the way for Mims to make a leap in year two.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We were equally responsible, I don’t want to say, for stopping you, but you’re trying to take pictures with Jerry Jeudy, with Courtland,” Payton said Thursday when speaking of Mims, via NFL.com. “I think we’re going to see a lot of growth from Year 1 to Year 2. He’s tough. He made a really good play today.”
That play Payton is referring to was a deep catch the Oklahoma product made on a Jarrett Stidham throw, which is only fueling the excitement surrounding the receiver. Speaking after practice on Thursday, Mims noted that there is a “night and day” difference between where he was during his rookie season and where he is now.
“Coming into Year 2, knowing what to expect, knowing the routes, knowing what I have to do as a receiver, I feel like this is starting to get a lot easier for me, especially mentally,” Mims said, via the team’s official website. “… I had a hamstring injury when I got here, so I sat for a long time. Right now, I’m healthy. [I’ve] I felt the best I’ve felt in a long time. And also getting to know the coaches, knowing what they expect, knowing the routes – all that stuff – and being with the same guys, it’s really cool.”
Mims has seen just 33 targets in Denver’s 2023 offense, tied for sixth-most on the team. He also played in just 35.82% of offensive snaps. Where Mims was able to make the biggest impact during his debut campaign was in the return game, which is expected to continue into 2024, in addition to what is expected to be an increasing role in attack as potentially the No. 1 target.
“We know he returns well,” Payton said. “We felt like that was one of the strong points, obviously, that we saw on tape. But we saw the transition speed, we saw the things you need to have at that receiver position. and I don’t mean a packed room, but just trying to come up with enough touches for these guys. Now we have a room and we have a lot of young players. Size is certainly something you see at the receiver position now. I’m looking forward as we go through this process to watch these guys. I feel like we’re younger. and you kind of feel it in training.”
In addition to Sutton and Mims, the Broncos’ receiver depth chart consists of Josh Reynolds, Tim Patrick, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and rookie Troy Franklin, among others.
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