Broncos HC Sean Payton Addresses WR Marvin Mims Jr.'s Role in Offense

Based on how the Seattle Seahawks played the Denver Broncos, Marvin Mims Jr.'s unique talents will be needed moving forward.

Aug 11, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. (19) and wide receiver Devaughn Vele (81) celebrate a touchdown during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

After their Week 1 defeat in Seattle, the Denver Broncos' list of issues suddenly got rather extensive for the coaching staff. The vast overreactions have been widespread in media circles and the frustrated Broncos fan base, and they've been hard to ignore. 

Of course, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix will need more time to settle down before he can show off the best version of himself. A quarterback building chemistry with his wide receivers is a sports clique, but them holding onto Nix's passes would be a good place to start for the Broncos.

On Wednesday, Nix was insistent that spreading the ball around and delivering it more efficiently into their hands will be the key. On that subject, the underutilization of explosive deep-ball threat Marvin Mims Jr. is especially concerning.

Head coach Sean Payton doesn't want Mims' lack of inclusion to become a bigger issue than need be, but the speedster registering only a dozen offensive snaps tells its own story. Payton finally addressed that particular elephant.

"It's part of the challenges when we have multiple receiver groups," Payton said about Mims' lack of utilization. "Obviously we anticipated him getting more than just 12 [snaps]. A lot of it depends on how much of the game we're playing in nickel on offense, three-receiver sets or base sets. That can vary, but I think you'll see his pitch count week-to-week, depending on the team we're playing go up."

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Nix is savvy enough to know he has to get the ball to the right place, but for any rookie quarterback, simply trusting the throwing windows he's seen during practice materializing on gameday is crucial. It requires receivers to be consistent and get open.

"I think it's all being on the same page and knowing where those wide receivers are going to be," Nix said. "Then at the same time, you have to know where the defense is going to be. It's kind of a mix and match of be where they aren't and throw with anticipation, and sometimes that anticipation can get you in trouble."

In the immediate aftermath of the loss to Seattle, Payton demanded more from the receiving group — rather than place the blame on his rookie passer. That decision was rooted in carefully preserving Nix's confidence levels. Furthermore, Payton believes the veterans in the receiver room can deal with some criticism.

Courtland Sutton spearheads that group, and in the face of catching some personal flak for his own opening-day performance, the veteran knows he's got to get on the same page with his new quarterback. 

"I think it's very important," Sutton said about the communication levels with Nix. "Each series that we come to the sideline, we're having conversations about, 'Hey, on this specific play, we thought they were going to play us outside, and they played us inside. That may open something else later on in the game.' We may have a blitz that somebody may not have seen right away that we can go back and tell them on."

For all the difficulties Payton has dealt with this week, his instinctive move to shield Nix from media criticism (in so far that he was successful) has proven to be sound. Ahead of his next formidable challenge vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, Nix shared his belief that he's making positive strides toward becoming a bonafide NFL quarterback. That requires learning the lessons from failure.

"Absolutely, yeah," Nix said. "Those moments were critical in the game. They provided points and big opportunities. Our two-minute drives actually turned into 10 points. So that's really important throughout a game. We just have to find more ways to do that the rest of the time, but I thought that's a good point. That was a critical catch to Josh [Reynolds] before half for three points. Then the slants to Courtland and Josh were huge for a touchdown."

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