The Denver Broncos will have to have a lot of things break their way if they want to have any semblance of success in 2024.
One of those things will have to be getting mega production from some unexpected sources — The Athletic’s Jake Ciely thinks they may already have a player that could do that in the fold in second-year wide receiver/return specialist Marvin Mims.
Ciely put Mims on his list of possible “Breakout Wide Receivers” in the NFL in 2024 when it comes to fantasy football potential after Mims made the NFL All-Pro Team and the Pro Bowl as a return specialist in 2023.
“The opportunity for Mims is here though — with Jerry Jeudy off to Cleveland, he has an inside track to start opposite Courtland Sutton,” Ciely wrote. “Josh Reynolds arrives via free agency, but he’s merely a No. 3 and likely falls to No. 4 if/when (Troy) Franklin is ready to step up — possibly as a rookie.”
Mims becoming a reliable wide receiver target would be a huge leap — he only had 22 receptions for 377 yards and 1 touchdown in 2023.
Mims Might Be Lacking One Key Component
The Broncos selected Mims in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft (No. 63 overall) after he was a two-time All-Big 12 selection at Oklahoma. He also ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.38 seconds at the NFL combine.
While Mims’ numbers in the receiving game playing behind Sutton and Jeudy were pedestrian as a rookie, he was spectacular in the return game. Mims finished his rookie year with 1,116 all-purpose yards after adding another 709 yards on punt and kick returns, including a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins.
“We know he’s a good returner,” Denver head coach Sean Payton told NFL.com. “We felt that was one of the strengths obviously that we saw on tape. But we saw transitional speed, we saw the things that you need to have at that receiver position. So I don’t think it was his development as much as, and I don’t want to say a crowded room, but just trying to create enough touches for those guys. Now we have a room, and we have a lot of young players. Size is certainly something you see at the receiver position right now.”
That’s a telling comment from Payton — size is one thing Mims doesn’t have at 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds.
Everything Depends on Who Starts at Quarterback
Like everything else with the Broncos, how Mims does this season will depend largely on who ends up starting at quarterback — predictably disastrous if veterans Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson beat out rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
“The larger issue is likely the quarterback situation, with Bo Nix looking to start immediately ahead of Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson,” Ciely wrote. “Heck, Broncos fans and Mims better be praying Nix doesn’t fail to look better than those two. Mims can line up at all receiver positions, but he’s lacking separation and elusiveness — more of a chain-mover or ‘just go deep’ guy, so far.”
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