Broncos Must Get Rookie WR Marvin Mims More Involved
The Denver Broncos have an offensive identity crisis on their hands regarding personnel usage, and it has caused multiple problems for the consistency of the unit over the first two weeks of the season.
Despite leading the league in points per drive, Denver’s offense faltered when it mattered most against the Washington Commanders.
Denver’s offense sprinted out to an early 21-3 lead after scoring touchdowns on their first-three possessions. Their running attack was gashing a tremendous Commanders defensive line. They hit several big passing plays including a pair of deep shots to rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims, Jr., one of which went for a 60-yard touchdown.
After those two explosive plays – and a 45-yard punt return as well – Mims wasn’t targeted again for the rest of the game.
Why?
“Some of it’s coverage driven, and some of it is just based on what we’re in,” head coach Sean Payton said following the loss on Sunday. “We ended up in a couple different personnel groupings. Part of that is coincidence, I would say. We had a number of guys we were trying to get the ball to, and we’ll keep doing that.”
The problem with this statement is the fact that Mims only saw the field on 16-total offensive snaps against the Commanders. As one of – if not the – most explosive playmakers on the offense, one would think that getting him more opportunities to make plays would be paramount.
His opportunities don’t always need to be vertical shots down the field or the pair of jet sweeps that he was afforded. They don’t always need to see him touch the football to have an effect on the offense as a whole.
With the NFL now on notice that he has the speed to take the top off of the defense, Mims should be a regular on the field, especially between the 20’s. Mims has electric speed that teams are going to have to respect every time he is on the field.
His presence will open up more opportunities for guys like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton underneath. It may also open up the box a little more for the running game as teams need to be ready to get more depth in coverage to keep Mims from burning them over the top.
The Broncos can also utilize his speed horizontally with shallow and intermediate crossing routes to open up passing windows in the defensive secondary.
Not putting Mims on the field more in the second half of the game was a mistake in personnel usage, especially after the success the Broncos saw on their first two drives.
Despite being a rookie with two career games under his belt, he needs to be a bigger focus for the offense and Sean Payton,
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