WR/KR Marvin Mims Jr. is going to be a major part of the Broncos offense this upcoming season

Broncos wide receiver/returner had a breakout year last season and will look to continue that this upcoming season.

In the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos traded up into the second round and selected Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr.. The explosive wide receiver was Sean Payton’s first draft selection with the Broncos, and he was expected to become an immediate playmaker and deep threat in their offense. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and things started slowly for Mims, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

In his rookie year with the Broncos, Mims had just 22 receptions for 377 yards and 1 touchdown. That was a bit of a disappointment, but he did earn a Pro Bowl nod as a kick returner and was a second-team All-Pro during his first season with the Broncos. The hope was that Mims would improve on the offensive side of the ball in year two, and again, that was not the case, at least for the first half of the year.

Through the Broncos’ first 9 games of the season, Mims saw just 15 targets in the passing game and had 7 receptions for 56 yards. You were seeing players like Lil’Jordan Humphrey and rookies Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin see more looks on the offensive side of the ball, while Mims was mostly just a high-end returner.

That all started to change during the Broncos’ first game vs. the Chiefs. He saw 4 targets in the passing game while having 3 rushing attempts. While the production was not great, the uptick in usage was promising considering his lack of it prior. After this game, Marvin Mims would become an electric part of the Broncos’ offense moving forward.

He would get his first offensive touchdown a week later vs. the Falcons, top 100 yards vs. the Browns a few weeks later, while also scoring another touchdown, and then going off vs. the Bengals, where he had 8 receptions for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns. He would have another two-touchdown game a week later during the season finale game vs. the Chiefs’ backups.

During this 8-week stretch, Mims would see 37 targets in the passing game and total 32 receptions for 447 yards and 6 touchdowns. If he produced like this over a 17-game stretch, Mims would be somewhere in the range of 80 receptions for 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. I would sign up for that in a heartbeat, AND he did all of this while also being an elite returner once again. Mims would receive Pro Bowl honors once again and become a 2x Pro Bowl returner while also receiving first-team All-Pro honors as a returner for the first time in his career.

Now, Mims enters his third year with the Broncos, looking to carry over the success he saw late last year into this upcoming year. You expect him to be an elite Pro Bowl/All-Pro returner once again, but now, if he continues to play like he did last season, he could receive these honors as a receiver.

Player Profile

Marvin Mim Jr. | Wide Receiver | Broncos

• Height: 5-11
• Weight: 183 pounds
• Age: 23 years old
• Experience: 3rd NFL season
• 2024 stats: 39 receptions for 503 yards and 6 touchdowns, 13 carries for 42 yards, 26 punt returns for 408 yards, and 7 kick returns for 194 yards.

Broncos WR/KR Marvin Mims Jr.’s 2025 Outlook

He’ll once again be the Broncos’ top return man and look to become a 3x Pro Bowler, and look to repeat the first-team All-Pro honors he received last year. He’s one of the best returners in the NFL right now and should benefit from the NFL looking to have more kick returns this upcoming season.

As for his outlook on the offensive side, that is where things get interesting. He thrived in a bit of a gadget role last season, where they liked getting him in space in the screen game, saw him line up in the backfield, take some carries, and was used him as a deep threat at times. However, we did not really see him used as a traditional wide receiver much. The question is, will we see him be used more as a traditional wide receiver, or will he stick at this positionless gadget player role where he makes plays from all over the field?

This is a good problem to have and not really a concern for me. I’m just curious how Sean Payton plans to use Mims moving forward, considering he’s their most electric playmaker on the roster.

If you look at the roster, you can assume that we’ll see Mims in a similar role to the one we saw late last season. You have the returning Courtland Sutton, they signed tight end Evan Engram, drafted running back RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant on day two of the draft, and have Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele entering their second year. There is a lot of potential weapons here and this allows Payton to move Mims around and scheme up some crazy shit to get him open for some big plays like he did last year.

Final Thoughts

I expect big things from Mims this upcoming season.

We saw him break out at the end of last season while the Broncos were lacking weapons on the offensive side of the ball. They had no run game, very little from their tight ends, and outside of Sutton, the wide receiver production was hit or miss. Mims stepped up and became a big-play threat and their top playmaker during their postseason run.

Now, with veteran Evan Engram at tight end, the explosive RJ Harvey at running back, and Pat Bryant added to the wide receiver room, the Broncos and Bo Nix have some weapons to work with. This will allow Payton to move Mims all around his offense (the true Joker?) and take advantage of matchups and scheme him open.

Payton has an entire offseason to scheme up some plays for Mims, and I believe we’ll see big things from the Broncos’ explosive playmaker this upcoming season.