The Broncos already know what they have in Jerry Jeudy: a $15 million contract and a five-cent head. A Nuke LaLoosh without a Crash Davis to set him straight. A mercurial talent who doesn’t want to be here. A first-round draft pick who hasn’t made a Pro Bowl, getting chippy on social media with a bunch of ex-Broncos whoactuallyhave.
We’ve seen enough. Unless the plan is to showcase No. 10 for a trade, Sean Payton, we’re begging you here: Less Jerry. More Marvin. As in rookie Marvin Mims Jr. Remember him? Oh, right.
Those Jets fumbles. So? The former Oklahoma star is averaging 19.9 yards per touch for a bull junk — thank you, Coach Prime— offense. Yet Mims has touched it only 13 times — 10 catches, three runs — in six games. Adam Levitan on “X” charted Mims with running only seven routes against the Chiefs. Mims has three receptions this season of 40 yards or more. The rest of the team has two.
Per Pro Football Reference data, Mims has played more than 32% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps only once in a game this season — at Chicago (35.4%), back on Oct. 1.
That’s Denver’s only win to date and marked the Broncos’ season high in scoring on the road (31). Coincidence? I mean, yeah, the Bears being the Bears helped. But the point stands. Yet when Payton, the Broncos’ sunny first-year coach, was asked about this very thing during his weekly Monday Zoom with the local scribes, he countered with this:
“(Mims is) doing well. We’re faced with a challenge sometimes of trying to find that balance with (Courtland) Sutton, (Jerry) Jeudy, Mims and the guys that we feel like can make plays in space. “He’s on track, and we’re confident in how he’s handling the return duties but also his ability to make plays for us in the passing game. (We’re) trying to find that balance. We’ve had packages where both he and Jeudy are on the field at the same time, opposite of one another. Again, that’s still a work in progress, but I don’t think it’s a work in progress specifically towards Marvin as much as it is for us finding packages and touches for (them) both in the passing game.” Less Jerry. More Marvin. Problem solved. Was that so hard?
Right now, coach, Broncos Country is reaching for tinfoil hats to prevent themselves from putting bags over their heads. The latest theory? Payton, he of the long-term contract, is thinking big picture. He’s keeping one of his best playmakers off the field now because he wants to reunite Mims with his old Oklahoma teammate Caleb Williams, the likely first pick in the 2024 NFL draft, later. Rational? Oh, heck, no.
But when you’re 1-5 and staring at 4-13 or 5-12, rational kinda goes out the window. Along with a few replica jerseys. Through his first five games, Mims had totaled the fourth-highest number of all-purpose yards in Broncos history for a player making his first five appearances. On an offense that lacks home-run hitters, No. 19 can break a long one at any time. Or, given rookie brain-cramps. break your heart.
And if you’re wondering why the home runs matter so dang much, the Royal Football Substack blog recently made a fairly strong case: Six NFL teams last year wound up least plus-25 or better in “explosive plays” ratio — as in, at least 25 more runs over 12 yards and passes over 16 yards than your opponents. All six reached the ’22-’23 postseason. Less Jerry. More Marvin. “(Mims is) someone that can handle the speed sweeps, the (end)-arounds, and those types of things,” Payton continued. “He is really good with the ball in his hands.” Then why don’t you, I dunno, maybe put the ball there? The Packers are giving up an average ofthree “explosive” pass plays of 20 yards or more per game. The Broncos are giving up 3.6. Green Bay’s giving up 3.4 “explosive” run plays per game of 10 yards or more.
The Broncos are allowing an average of 3.8. Less Jerry. More Marvin. The Pack ain’t the Jets, coach. There’s a chance Sunday, on paper, for the Orange & Blue to move the ball. If you want it. And if you don’t, well, we don’t need a tinfoil hat to figure out why.
