The idea of the Denver Broncos having a ‘luxury’ player is a concept that seemed so foreign just a few years ago when the team finished 5-12 and was the laughingstock of the entire league. There wasn’t a Sean Payton to lead the team from the sidelines, there wasn’t a Bo Nix to lead the team from under center, and there weren’t a plethora of depth pieces like Marvin Mims Jr. to keep the top guys fresh and keep the defense guessing.
Two and a half years later, the Broncos’ landscape looks much brighter with luxuries all throughout the organization as they enter the second year of the Bo Nix era. What’s different about this team is how much firepower they have beyond the front lines on both sides of the ball that should now allow them to compete with the Kansas City’s and the Buffalo’s of the AFC.
ESPN released its list of the best luxury players in the NFL recently, a list not compiled of star players, but rather guys who specialize at a very specific thing on the field but aren’t necessary to basic roster construction. These are the sixth offensive linemen, the blocking tight ends, the gunners on special teams — the guys who make winning plays but don’t put up 25 fantasy points every game or win the big shiny awards. For the Broncos, Mims was named as the league’s top gadget player.
Mims was given the designation because of his ability to do a whole lot more than just run past everyone when lined up in the slot and score on deep balls. He can line up outside, in the slot or in the backfield, all while being the NFL’s top return man. When the Broncos selected him 63rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Sean Payton knew that he was getting a guy that could do almost anything on the football field after he averaged 20 yards per catch and 16 yards per return in his final year at Oklahoma.
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Marvin Mims (#17) makes an incredible touchdown grab against Texas in the 2021 Red River Rivalry.
Mims finished the game with 5 receptions for 136 yards and 2 tds. pic.twitter.com/5fuRQ7FMQX
— Did Brent Venables Get Fired Today? (@ouftblcountdown) August 17, 2022
For anyone who needed a reminder, this guy has been making electric plays for years now, and Payton saw it long before anyone else did.
“Thinking about the classic idea of an undersized gadget player who moves around the formation to thrive, catches all kinds of passes near the line of scrimmage and creates big plays with the ball in his hands, Mims comes to mind,” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell said.
Mims made a big jump in 2024 after not seeing a whole lot of action in his rookie campaign. He was named First-team All-Pro as the punt return specialist, averaging a league-best 15.7 yards per return, and caught 39 passes from Nix for 503 yards and six touchdowns. He lined up at all four of the standard receiver positions at least 30 times, showing that he’s not just a one-trick pony, and had 13 rushing attempts as well.
Don’t forget about one of his two miraculous touchdown grabs against the Bengals last year, with the second one sending the game to overtime.
BO NIX FINDS MARVIN MIMS ON 4TH DOWN FOR THE GAME-TYING TD 🤯
WHAT IS HAPPENING??!!!?!
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/lMFfMcYvUw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2024
Going into 2025, the Broncos need to use him even more if they want to make it farther in the playoffs than they did in 2024 when they were blown out in the Wild Card round by Buffalo. He has the tools to truly unlock an offense’s true potential, and with the new additions of Evan Engram and J.K. Dobbins on that side of the ball, another leap from Mims this year could make this offense one of the scariest units in the league.