Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.
Hey Parker, with Courtland Sutton set as our No. 1 receiver, who’s our No. 2 guy? Marvin Mims Jr. seems to be the slot/joker weapon for us. Can Devaughn Vele make the next step? Or Troy Franklin? Or Pat Bryant?
— Mark, Arvada
Hey Mark, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week.
It’s a really good question and one that to me is probably the single most interesting offensive storyline — maybe tied with how the running back room shakes out — to watch in training camp. That’s because, you’re right, there are several options.
From here, Mims looks like the best candidate. He really started to break out down the stretch last year and head coach Sean Payton found more and more ways to get the ball in his hands. Not just screens and reverses and handoffs out of the backfield, either. For the first time in his career, really, Mims was a central part of the offense and the Broncos made sure they got him the ball.
The numbers are well-known at this point but still striking. Mims had seven catches on 15 targets for 56 yards through nine games last year. Plus one carry for 17.
Over the final eight, he had 32 catches on 37 targets for 447 and six touchdowns, plus 12 carries for 25. His finishing kick was even more impressive, catching all 13 targets for 154 yards and four TDs in the final two weeks, including the heroics at Cincinnati in Week 17.
If he continues on that trajectory, Mims has a chance not only to be the second man in the pecking order, but perhaps to lead the Broncos in yards receiving. He’s got that kind of game-breaking ability.
Vele, Franklin and Bryant all showed some positive signs during the offseason program, though obviously it’s a step up to training camp and then to the preseason and the regular season.
Vele was second among receivers in targets last year behind Sutton with 55 followed in quick succession by Franklin (53) and Mims (52).
Two things to keep in mind here: It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bo Nix throw the ball to his running backs more this year with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey primed to potentially both serve as upgrades in that department. Javonte Williams was reliable (52 catches on 70 targets), but didn’t do much with the ball in his hands (346 yards receiving).
The other, of course, is that in reality tight end Evan Engram could end up being Nix’s defacto second target behind Sutton. In his last two healthy seasons, Engram’s had 98 targets (2022) and 143 (2023). In the nine games he played last year he averaged 7.1 targets per, which translates to 121 over 17 games.
Take the RBs out of the equation for now and I’ll put in an early guess among the rest that the targets go Sutton first, Engram as a close second, then Mims third and Vele fourth. But that’s a starting point only. Camp is going to have a lot to say about the pecking order among the young guys.
Hello Parker! In his first season, Bo Nix played primarily out of the shotgun because, or at least in part because, like many rookie quarterbacks, he didn’t have a lot of experience playing under center in college. Do you think that will change next season or is it something that Sean Payton also prefers? Do you believe that it could help the running game and play-action?
— Yoann, Beine-Nauroy, France
Hey Yoann, great question. It’s a little bit of a “two things can be true at the same time” situation. The Broncos did play primarily out of the shotgun last year with Bo Nix. They also played from under center more than most teams in the NFL. That’s just a nod to how thoroughly the NFL has become a league played from the gun.
Denver, per Next Gen Stats, ran 370 plays from under center, which was a 35.1% rate. Both of those marks ranked No. 9 in the NFL. For perspective, only 28.9% of all snaps in the regular season last year were from under center, per NGS.
The Broncos ran a higher percentage of their offense from under center than any of the other teams starting a rookie quarterback, too. In fact, Washington and Jayden Daniels checked in dead last under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, running a miniscule 7.4% of snaps from under center.
Interestingly, however, the Broncos were among the most run-heavy teams from under center. Their 23.2% under center pass rate was tied for No. 24 in the NFL.
Also worth noting: Denver’s under center rate dropped from 41% in 2023 (mostly with Russell Wilson). You can frame this a couple ways: One is that perhaps Denver will be under center a bit more with Nix going forward as he gets a fuller command of Payton’s system and they continue to diversify what they do offensively. The other is that Payton is clearly much more comfortable with Nix than he ever was with Wilson, so perhaps last year is closer to Payton’s true North in terms of ideal usage.
One of the many interesting things to track as the 2025 season unfolds.
Great insight, Parker. Do Wil Lutz’s stats warrant as much confidence as Sean Payton has in him? And while he’s only been with Denver a couple years, how does he stack up compared to past kickers, like Jason Elam, Matt Prater and Brandon McManus?
— Rod, Tampa, Fla. (formerly Highlands Ranch)
Hey Rod, Lutz has definitely earned the very apparent trust that Payton has in him. Their history, of course, goes back to 2016 when they spent five seasons together in New Orleans. But for now let’s just look at the Broncos stats.
Lutz has made 61 of 68 field goal attempts (and 75 of 77 extra points) in his two seasons in Denver and has been remarkably consistent in doing so. Lutz was 30 of 34 in 2023 and 31 of 34 last year. One miss in each of those season was a blocked kick by Kansas City (including the brutal, game-decider last year at Arrowhead Stadium).
If you want to look just purely at accuracy marks, Lutz is at 89.7% conversions over the past two years. Elam: 80.6%. Prater: 82.9%. McManus: 81.4%.
Of course, making field goals is the name of the game but judging kickers is not as simple as just looking at one number.
Lutz is 8 of 12 from 50-plus yards with the Broncos and his longest make in that span is 55 yards. He’s tried a couple of real long ones — like a 60-yarder that came up well short at KC this past fall — but overall Payton hasn’t used him too frequently as a guy to go out there and hit bombs. Lutz’s seven attempts from 50-plus in 2024 tied for 19th most in the NFL. Across the league, 24 kickers made field goals longer than Lutz’s season-best of 55.
Lutz from a percentage standpoint stacks up well from 50-plus with Elam (60.6%), Prater (77.7%) and McManus (55.5%) though each of those guys obviously had many more years kicking for Denver than Lutz. Each of those guys also hit from 60-plus in his career, which Lutz did once in New Orleans (his career-long is 60) but has not yet done in Denver.
All in all, two years isn’t enough to put yourself into the category of Elam or Prater, but Lutz has been accurate and reliable and will be counted on again in big spots this fall (with a new holder in rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw).
Which Broncos free agent signings and draft picks might not make the opening day roster? And why?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Hey Ed, great question. Will be a little clearer once we get going in camp, but right now there aren’t a ton of guys added this offseason that look like major roster risks from this point on the calendar. Especially if you’re taking injury conversation off the table.
You’re probably talking about a guy like safety Sam Franklin, who doesn’t have a ton of guaranteed money and will have competition from younger players to make the roster as a special teams-first type of player. But Franklin’s played in 74 NFL games, so it’s not going to be easy for an undrafted rookie or less experienced player to bump him off the bubble.
It’s always possible there’s some 53-man roster/practice squad maneuvering at the roster cutdown with a guy like, say, fullback Mike Burton. He was part of that process last year but still ended up active for all 17 games.
In terms of draft picks, you figure fourth-rounder Que Robinson is a safe bet and Crawshaw is a sixth-rounder but projects as Denver’s starting punter. That only leaves Lohner, who could end up being one of the more interesting roster decisions. He might need a year or partial year of development after playing only 53 collegiate snaps at Utah. At the same time, Lohner was going to have a bunch of free agent suitors if he didn’t get drafted, which could well make the Broncos leery of trying to get him through waivers to the practice squad at the end of August. Plenty of time before anybody has to worry about that.
Bottom line here: Denver was active in free agency and obviously in the draft this offseason, but the players they added they did so for very specific reasons and with roster roles pretty clearly in mind.
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Originally Published: July 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM MDT