Sean Payton Teases Triumphant Return of Banished Broncos Rookie WR

Over the past three games, Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. has garnered just two targets. In the four games prior to his multi-fumble performance vs. the New York Jets in Week 5, Mims had 11 targets, nine of which he caught for 242 yards and a touchdown.

A month removed from Week 5, it's quite clear; Sean Payton has iced Mims out of the Broncos' offense, despite him averaging 22.4 yards per reception this season. For his part, Payton remains loathe to admit to Mims' apparent banishment.

On Monday, when asked how he plans to get the Broncos' dynamic rookie wideout more involved down the stretch, Payton pointed to the demand to feed the other deserving playmakers.

“It’s a good question," Payton said. "It’s certainly a fair question. How do we get Marvin more touches, and how do we incorporate him more into what we’re doing offensively? I’m sitting here looking at a notepad with his jersey number on it in front of me. That’s our job as coaches. We really believe we have a good, young, talented player. Obviously, there are other players on the offense that deserve the same type of attention relative to play design."

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With perhaps the exception of Courtland Sutton, no Broncos' pass-catcher has been lighting up the stat sheet. And, really, Sutton's six touchdowns is his only noteworthy stat; otherwise, he's averaging a career-low 11.5 yards per reception with just 380 receiving yards on 33 catches.

Perhaps Payton is speaking of Jerry Jeudy...

*checks notes*

Jeudy has received six targets per game over the past three contests, but it's translated to just 42 receiving yards in each. So it doesn't seem the Jeudy juice has been worth as much squeeze as Payton would have fans believe.

Over the bye week, maybe Payton has discovered how to better utilize Mims. Even if he hasn't, the Broncos risk ruining Mims' confidence as a young pro the longer his banishment continues. Payton needs to get him involved again, both for the immediate benefit of the Broncos and the rookie's long-term outlook.

"We’re going to work our tails off to move that needle where he’s getting opportunities, not only in the passing game," Payton said of Mims. "He just does a lot of things well, and he’s really good with the ball in his hands.”

Ain't that the truth? Mims was a clear difference-maker before he muffed a punt and botched a reverse toss to Samaje Perine vs. the Jets (the second of which Payton has already publicly absolved the rookie of).

The Broncos have won two in a row by battering down the hatches and doggedly committing to the run. Now's the time to start exploiting that proficiency with some timely play-action passes to take the top off of defenses.

Mims is the guy for that. The longer Payton delays, the more the offense is deprived of explosive impact, and the more opponents will load the box, crowd the line of scrimmage, and sell out to stop Denver's suddenly dominant run game.

The Buffalo Bills will test Payton's commitment to the run on Monday Night Football. Don't be shocked if that's when Mims makes his triumphant return to the offense.

After all, Payton knows as well as any NFL offensive mind how the sausage gets made.

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