The Denver Broncos will not have Marvin Mims this week as they face the Jaguars.
The offensive and special teams Swiss Army knife is sidelined due to a foot injury he sustained in the loss to the Chiefs. Marvin Mims is officially OUT this week vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That will hurt two phases of the Broncos this Sunday.
No Marvin Mims hurts Denver Broncos on offense
Mims didn’t contribute to the Broncos offense last Monday. But maybe that was the problem.
For the last three years under Sean Payton, the wideout has been used in a variety of ways within the offense. He’s been out wide, in the slot, and even in the backfield at times.
That versatility has been huge for Payton’s offense. And now that it’s Davis Webb’s offense, the same should be true.
When the Broncos have needed a monster play, they’ve dialed up Mims’ No. 19. Bo Nix hit him for a 93-yard touchdown against the Browns in 2024. That same year, Nix connected with Mims for the game-tying touchdown against the Bengals on the last play of regulation.
It really seemed like Mims broke out that season, especially down the stretch run.
But 2025 was a regression for the young man. Until he hit on that 26-yard touchdown to take the lead over the Bills in the Divisional Round. His 8 catches for 93 yards were both season-highs for Mims in that game.
That’s partially why the start of this season has been tougher to swallow for Broncos fans.
He was injured in preseason and now injured again in Week 1. When Denver’s offense needed a spark badly last week, Mims wasn’t there to give them one.
Sometimes that can be from the backfield, as mentioned earlier. He had 12 rushes for 78 yards and a touchdown last year. And if nothing else, he gives the defense another thing to focus on when he’s either lined up behind Nix or motions behind the line of scrimmage before the snap.
He keeps defenses off balance, which is crucial when they are easily stopping everything Denver’s throwing at them.
A special teams ace
While Mims has become the fourth/fifth receiver for the Broncos this year—as Pat Bryant has elevated and Jaylen Waddle was added—we know he’s always a part of special teams.
Mims made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2023 and 2024, his first two seasons. And it wasn’t because of his receiving prowess. It was because he’s explosive in the return game.
As a rookie, he even made Second Team All-Pro thanks to his kickoff return abilities. He took one kick to the house 99 yards and 26.5 yards per return that year.
The next season he was a First Team All-Pro, leading the NFL in punt return average at 15.7 yards per return.
And while he missed out on any person accolades last season, his 452 punt return yards were most in the NFL. Plus, his 658 kick return yards were a career-high.
So, Denver will be missing a lot without Mims this weekend.
In Week 1, RJ Harvey had four kickoff returns with a solid 27.8 average and third string running back Jonah Coleman had one return himself.
Tyler Badie is actually the backup kick return man and lined up opposite of Mims deep last year. But Badie was inactive in Week 1. It seems with Mims out, the Broncos may activate him for his kickoff return abilities.
That seems even more likely if RJ Harvey, the backup running back, is out. He’s currently questionable with a hamstring injury.
When Mims went out, Kris Abrams-Drahine was back catching punts. That’s a huge drop off in production considering we haven’t seen KAD out there when Mims is healthy. It was also interesting considering Riley Moss is listed as the backup punt returner.
Most of the time, football fans focus on one side of the ball or even one player. Quarterback, for instance. But good football teams win in all three phases of the game.
And when two good teams go at one another—like this week with the Jaguars in town—special teams often determines the outcome.
Mims could have been the game-changer. Instead, he’s sidelined and his backups must step up.
Jaguars (1-0) vs. Broncos (0-1) go toe-to-toe at 2:05 p.m. MT in Denver tomorrow.