There's a favorable story at USAToday.com (BroncosWire) about Marvin Mims. He's definitely a player whose 2025 outlook is all over the map, as high as the possible No. 2, as low as a situational guy and return man. Tricky player to evaluate.
Last year, we got both ends of the spectrum. The first half of the season, Mims didn't play much on offense. The second half, he was a difference-making type of weapon.
In the first nine weeks, Mims caught all of 7 passes and didn't score. He was primarily a return man, with Denver's wideout depth chart featuring Courtland Sutton, Devaughn Vele, Josh Reynolds, Troy Franklin and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Mims didn't get much opportunity, playing no more than a third of the offensive snaps in any game.
That all changed the second half of the season, with Reynolds gone and some of the other players mothballed. Mims in the final nine weeks (8 games) caught 32 passes for 447 yards, while also carrying the ball 12 times. He caught 6 touchdowns; only five wide receivers caught more. (Table sorted by touchdowns the second half of the season; includes all wide receivers with at least 3 TDs.)
| WIDE RECEIVERS, FINAL NINE WEEKS (2024) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | Run | TD | PPR |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 8 | 72 | 991 | 21 | 10 | 29.2 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 7 | 44 | 570 | 42 | 7 | 21.0 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 8 | 40 | 498 | 0 | 7 | 16.5 |
| Jordan Addison, Min. | 9 | 44 | 602 | 4 | 7 | 16.3 |
| Jalen McMillan, T.B. | 7 | 27 | 352 | 15 | 7 | 15.1 |
| Davante Adams, 2tms | 8 | 53 | 679 | 0 | 6.33 | 19.9 |
| Marvin Mims, Den. | 8 | 32 | 447 | 25 | 6 | 14.4 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 9 | 67 | 799 | 6 | 6 | 20.4 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 8 | 45 | 582 | 0 | 6 | 17.4 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 8 | 20 | 309 | 0 | 6 | 10.9 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 7 | 48 | 669 | 30 | 5 | 21.1 |
| Brian Thomas, Jac. | 8 | 52 | 687 | 33 | 5 | 19.3 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 9 | 55 | 750 | 0 | 5 | 17.8 |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 9 | 41 | 640 | 29 | 5 | 15.3 |
| Keenan Allen, Chi. | 9 | 49 | 547 | 0 | 5 | 14.9 |
| Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 9 | 47 | 513 | 17 | 5 | 14.4 |
| Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Ten. | 9 | 22 | 389 | 0 | 5 | 10.1 |
| Malik Nabers, NYG | 8 | 54 | 647 | 2 | 4.33 | 18.1 |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 9 | 59 | 767 | 34 | 4 | 18.1 |
| A.J. Brown, Phil. | 8 | 44 | 635 | 0 | 4 | 16.4 |
| Adam Thielen, Car. | 7 | 40 | 506 | 0 | 4 | 16.4 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 6 | 33 | 360 | 1 | 4 | 15.5 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 7 | 36 | 439 | 0 | 4 | 14.8 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 8 | 42 | 508 | 0 | 4 | 14.6 |
| Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 8 | 40 | 403 | 67 | 4 | 13.9 |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 7 | 18 | 389 | 0 | 4 | 11.6 |
| Quentin Johnston, LAC | 9 | 37 | 429 | 0 | 4 | 11.5 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, N.O. | 7 | 16 | 380 | 4 | 4 | 11.2 |
| Jalen Tolbert, Dall. | 9 | 19 | 257 | 0 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 8 | 57 | 811 | 0 | 3.33 | 19.8 |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 8 | 47 | 709 | 0 | 3.33 | 17.2 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 9 | 61 | 592 | 60 | 3.33 | 16.2 |
| Parker Washington, Jac. | 8 | 23 | 282 | 0 | 3.33 | 8.9 |
| Tim Patrick, Det. | 9 | 21 | 217 | 0 | 3.33 | 7.0 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 8 | 50 | 719 | -3 | 3 | 17.5 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 8 | 50 | 562 | 26 | 3 | 15.9 |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 9 | 52 | 571 | 18 | 3 | 14.3 |
| Calvin Ridley, Ten. | 9 | 37 | 618 | 23 | 3 | 13.2 |
| Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 8 | 34 | 440 | 0 | 3 | 12.0 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus, Was. | 8 | 24 | 282 | 8 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Devaughn Vele, Den. | 8 | 23 | 299 | 0 | 3 | 8.9 |
| David Moore, Car. | 7 | 20 | 231 | 0 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Ricky Pearsall, S.F. | 9 | 24 | 341 | 6 | 3 | 8.5 |
| Jayden Reed, G.B. | 8 | 19 | 237 | 53 | 3 | 8.3 |
Now Mims' numbers need to be qualified somewhat. For one thing, he scored 2 of his 6 touchdowns in Week 18, against a Kansas City second-string lineup. And if I sorted all second-half wide receivers by receptions, Mims would barely sneak into the top 40. It's far from certain he'll have a big offensive role in 2025, or score 6 TDs in an eight-game stretch again.
But Denver didn't add much at the position. They drafted Pat Bryant in the third round; that's about it. They also added Evan Engram at tight end; he's certainly going to see plenty of passes.
Anyway, let's not forget about Mims. Very possible he's one of the top 3 wide receivers, as he was the second half of last season, and a viable part of the offense.
--Andy Richardson