{"id":965743,"date":"2026-08-06T11:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T11:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/965743\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T11:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T11:24:16","slug":"is-marvin-mims-jr-the-broncos-breakout-player-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/965743\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Marvin Mims Jr. the Broncos’ breakout player in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jaylen Waddle<\/a> gets open in a flash.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t slow down as he changes direction. But when he hits the brakes, it\u2019s instantaneous.<\/p>\n

The Broncos<\/a>\u2019 newest offensive gravitational force is also quick to the point when discussing one of his teammates in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of Marvin Mims<\/a>, I\u2019m not going to lie,\u201d Waddle said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Waddle\u2019s arrival might have spelled bad news for Mims and Denver\u2019s other pass-catchers vying for playing time behind Courtland Sutton, but instead what has blossomed is a fast friendship between fast guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great teammate,\u201d Mims said of Waddle. \u201cJust knowing all he\u2019s done from his days at Bama and then to Miami, he\u2019s somebody you can respect as soon as he walks through the door. He doesn\u2019t have to do anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then you watch him and you watch the way he moves, it\u2019s insane. I can\u2019t even explain it. He\u2019s just one heck of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broncos training camp report: WR Jaylen Waddle exits practice with \u2018muscle tightness\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A funny thing has happened along the way, too: Instead of being suppressed or less involved with Waddle\u2019s arrival, Mims is off to the fastest training camp start of his career.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t guarantee anything come September or December, of course. Still, it\u2019s better than the other way around for a player who has never settled into a consistent, full-time role and for whom a gap exists between the way the coaching staff talks about him and what his actual week-to-week involvement looks like.<\/p>\n

Mims has been talked about as a breakout candidate essentially ahead of each of his professional seasons, but offensive his numbers have looked like this:<\/p>\n

2023: 38% offensive snaps, 22 catches (33 targets), 377 yards, 1 TD<\/p>\n

2024: 27% offensive snaps, 39 (52), 503, 6 TD<\/p>\n

2025: 37% offensive snaps, 37 (51) 322, 1 TD<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as play-making, getting opportunities to do different things with (new offensive coordinator Davis) Webb and the changes we\u2019ve made offensively, I think it\u2019s been good,\u201d Mims said. \u201cI\u2019ve accepted the challenge. I think I\u2019ve done well. I\u2019ve got good feedback.<\/p>\n

\"MarvinMarvin Mims Jr. (19) of the Denver Broncos beats Christian Gonzalez (0) of the New England Patriots for a deep reception during the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

\u201cJust try to keep it rolling and stay healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mims is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is one of several key players on the team who are set to be free agents after the 2026 season. Given the way the wide receiver market is heading league-wide and also the fact that he\u2019s a two-time All-Pro return man, a good Year 4 for Mims will set him up to cash in, whether with the Broncos or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to avoid thinking about the future altogether, but Mims said getting into the grind of camp has actually helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just here all day,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing around the guys kind of helps, too. All this offseason, it\u2019s just like questioning what everything\u2019s going to look like. It\u2019s my first time being, whatever you even call it, going into a contract year. But hoping for the best. We\u2019ll see what happens. There\u2019s no telling.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t difficult to tell, though, that the early stages of camp have buoyed Mims\u2019 confidence after he expressed uncertainty about what his role might be over the summer.<\/a> Mims has a new receivers coach in Ronald Curry. He\u2019s working under a new play-caller in Webb. He has, if not a clean slate, then at least a fresh set of opportunities that may lead to a similar role as the past three years but also seems to hold the potential for more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re kind of in the same positions but in different formations,\u201d Mims said. \u201cGuys can do different things. So it\u2019s fun to see how everything plays out in practice. We don\u2019t know where everyone is going to be yet, but at the same time we want to see what everybody can do, what complements what, who complements who.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun. We\u2019ve got a lot of great guys. We\u2019re deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

The battle for snaps behind Waddle and Sutton is a fierce one. Pat Bryant enters his second season as the group\u2019s best perimeter blocker and perhaps its best in-traffic operator. Troy Franklin had 104 targets last season. Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey is always involved.<\/p>\n

After Mims made play after play in the postseason<\/a>, however — only when he was forced onto the field by injuries to others \u2014\u00a0Payton has been consistent about wanting Mims to get the ball more.<\/p>\n

He brought it up again early in camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you just looked at when we\u2019ve called on him for those opportunities, he\u2019s come down with a lot of plays,\u201d Payton said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this summer is different. Perhaps Mims can carve out a real, consistent role. He seems to feel the potential for that, even if it\u2019s early in camp and even though he doesn\u2019t know for sure.<\/p>\n

Amid all the continuity, Mims is one of the returning players who could end up benefitting most from what new there is on offense.<\/p>\n

Certainly, the Broncos\u2019 blockbuster spring addition thinks so.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very explosive,\u201d Waddle said. \u201cI love watching him work. I love being in meetings and just picking his brain. Marvin is a big play always ready to happen. You\u2019ve got to respect that kind of speed, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jaylen Waddle gets open in a flash. He doesn\u2019t slow down as he changes direction. But when he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":965744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,564,1270,231,258,2426,19602,7,1331,5316,14706,929,926,6,1011,9,1275],"class_list":["post-965743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-broncos","tag-colorado","tag-courtland-sutton","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-empower-field-at-mile-high","tag-football","tag-front-range","tag-injuries","tag-jaylen-waddle","tag-latest-headlines","tag-more-broncos-news","tag-nfl","tag-pat-bryant","tag-sports","tag-troy-franklin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117048316003951499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=965743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/965744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=965743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=965743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=965743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}