Broncos' Marvin Mims eager to add to playmaking menu after breakout second season

New York Times

5 days ago

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — How do we give Marvin more?
That question, which flowed down from Broncos head coach Sean Payton and around his offensive staff midway through the 2024 season, helped fuel an offensive turnaround as Denver made its first push to the playoffs in nine years. The Broncos wanted to create more opportunities to give Marvin Mims, the speedy second-year receiver, the ball in space. The idea was to take advantage of the playmaking capabilities Mims had already showcased as a returner, a role that has already earned the 2023 second-round pick All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.
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The brainstorming brought them to a conclusion: By getting Mims on the move horizontally, they could open up more space for him — and their other offensive targets — vertically. Mims made cameos in the backfield, carrying the ball 13 times for 42 yards, but it was the accounting defenses had to do for him in that space that ultimately created mismatches. In back-to-back games against the Falcons and Raiders near the midpoint of the season, Mims caught passes of 37 yards after running wheel routes out of the backfield that matched him one-on-one with a safety.
Advantage: Mims.
Nix to Mims for 37 yards ➡
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— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
The more Mims did within the offense, the more his confidence bloomed. He caught 28 passes for 434 yards and six touchdowns across Denver's final seven games. That included a career-best performance in an overtime loss to the Bengals in Week 17, when he caught eight passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which was an acrobatic, leaping grab in the end zone on fourth-and-long to send the game to overtime.
'When something like that happens, then you're constantly thinking, 'Are we collectively … doing things that suit each player?'' Payton said. '(Mims) is a good example that there was a niche of other things that we were able to do that we saw his confidence grow, exceptionally, throughout the course of the season.'
So this offseason, as the Broncos began formulating plans for this year's offense, it was only natural that they revisited the question: How do we give Marvin more?
It was a question, entering his third season, Mims felt more comfortable asking, too.
'It was a mix of both,' Mims said recently, 'of me getting prepared to do different stuff during the offseason, and then them coming to me, maybe right before OTAs, and saying, 'Hey, we're going to try some different stuff and see how you feel about it.' The past couple years, it was either, 'Marv's going in to run a screen, or he's going to run something deep.' I think now we'll be giving defenses some different looks, which will be good for us offensively.'
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Indeed, 35 of Mims' 85 passing targets through his first two seasons have been classified as screens, according to TruMedia. Another 24 have been deep balls, classified as passes thrown 20 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage.
The Broncos' training camp guidelines, as is standard across most of the league, prohibit reporting on formational alignments and route specifics. But it's safe to say Mims has seen his menu grow this offseason to include more opportunities in other areas of the field.
Mims said he spent time this offseason closely studying Courtland Sutton's cut-ups from the veteran's career-best season in 2024. He also went back and watched how Payton used former Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy out of the slot during the 2023 season. He spent time at the Pro Bowl chatting with star Texans receiver Nico Collins about the finer points of the craft. It was all done to position himself as a more complete receiver as he enters his third NFL season.
Some of it, of course, is a natural evolution.
'The biggest thing is the mental load of it,' Mims said. 'I'm not thinking as hard as I was the first year with all the little stuff. Now, when we're going into install meetings, I'm looking at the little things instead of the big picture because I kind of understand it. This year, I've been doing some different stuff, stuff I haven't done since I've been here.'
Cornerback Riley Moss, who was drafted by the Broncos in the third round in 2023, 20 selections after Mims, said the idea of the young wide receiver adding more tools around his defining trait — elite speed — will be a scary prospect for opposing defenses this season.
'He's a fast guy,' Moss said. 'He's linear, and he'll get out. So you have to make sure, if you're playing off, that you know when to open up. And then he'll sit down, too. He'll run the curl. And then him as a jet guy, when he's motioning across and you're in man and trying to get across the defense, he's just got a lot of traits to him that are good — and his speed is definitely the best.'
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Mims told reporters Wednesday he remains open to being used as a ball carrier, but he grinned while saying he'd prefer to avoid taking hits from downhill-charging linebackers if he can. He is also hopeful, after returning only seven kicks last season, that another tweak to the league's kickoff rule will give him more chances to do damage as a returner. In 2024, touchbacks under the league's new dynamic kickoff rules brought the ball back to the 30-yard line. The rate of kick returns rose by 11 percent across the league (21.8 in 2023 to 32.8 in 2024), but the Broncos had fewer total returns (13 in '24; 16 in '23) as teams actively avoided Mims. Now, touchbacks will give the offense the ball at the 35-yard line, and Mims believes that will give him increased return chances because opponents don't like the alternative.
'If you give Bo Nix the ball at the 35,' he said, 'that's going to be trouble.'
The bottom line is that Mims wants to be a playmaker for the Broncos in whatever form that takes. It's why the question — How do we give Marvin more? — probably isn't going away anytime soon.
Here's a quick look at what you need to know from the Broncos' fifth day of camp on Tuesday:
The Broncos practiced in pads for the third straight day and conducted their longest workout of camp. So it was encouraging that Denver had arguably its most spirited session of the summer. It began during a nine-on-seven running drill in which pads popped and trash talk was freely exchanged. The origin, as usual, was the defensive line.
'It's just Malcolm Roach,' a slyly smiling Mims said of Denver's boisterous defensive tackle. 'I sit next to him in the locker room. The guy doesn't shut up. … We're always going at it, but with him, it's a whole different deal.'
The offense also brought the volume thanks to veteran running back J.K. Dobbins, who only signed with the team in June but has clearly become comfortable lending his voice.
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'It's cool. We hung out a little bit over the offseason, just kind of getting to know him,' Mims said of Dobbins. 'Having him there as a leader and a vet guy, I think it helps a lot.'
Rookie running back RJ Harvey has earned praise for his strong start to camp, but it was a pair of holdovers at the position who made noise Tuesday. Blake Watson had back-to-back big runs during the opening team period that drew cheers from the offensive side of the ball, and the second-year player also had a solid gain after catching a screen pass later in practice. Audric Estimé, meanwhile, delivered the day's most powerful run when he took a carry up the middle, lowered his right shoulder and planted undrafted rookie linebacker Jordan Turner into the ground.
Not to be outdone, Dobbins caught a screen pass in the flat, slammed on the brakes and ducked under safety Brandon Jones to produce a big gain on a screen play. It's easy to see why Payton was adamant that there was no definitive pecking order at running back as the team gathered for offseason practices. The competition for roster spots and touches at the position is as fierce as any on the roster.
Late in practice, Bo Nix completed two passes for first downs during a period focused on third-and-long plays. First, he buried a tight-window throw into the arms of Sutton. He later moved up in the pocket and found Trent Sherfield for a first-down gain on third-and-12-or-so. The defense has certainly won its fair share of reps in practice, but Nix has been sharp during third-down and red zone periods, and the final period Wednesday was particularly sharp.
Jonathon Cooper has been almost impossible to block since the Broncos moved into pads this week. He zoomed off the ball during the third-down period and reached Jarrett Stidham just as the shotgun snap was hitting the quarterback's hands. Earlier, he and defensive end Zach Allen combined to cave in the right side of Denver's offensive line and get to Nix for a would-be sack.
Cooper has spent the last few offseasons working hard to increase his flexibility. That has helped give him more bendy tools as a pass rusher. After notching a career-high 10.5 sacks last season, Cooper still looks like an ascending player.
Wide receiver Devaughn Vele and rookie pass rusher Que Robinson did not practice. Payton was not scheduled to speak with reporters Wednesday, so it's unclear what kept those two players out of action.
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Payton did spend time talking to former Broncos standout Emmanuel Sanders, who played for Payton during the receiver's lone season with the Saints in 2020. Engaging with alumni has been a priority for the Broncos ownership group, led by Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner, since taking over the team in 2022. There hasn't been a day in camp so far without former players present.