The Denver Broncos unveiled an unexpected twist on offense against the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Marvin Mims, a wide receiver and Pro Bowl returner, spent a few snaps lined up in the team’s backfield. The 22-year-old speedster ended the day with three carries for 17 yards and four receptions for 13 yards (plus a 28-yard punt return).
During his mid-week media availability, Broncos coach Sean Payton noted that it’s not the first time we’ve seen this happen. Payton referenced Deebo Samuel and Kordell Stewart as players who were also utilized in unique ways.
“One of the things that we are tasked to do sometimes is, ‘Are we missing anything from an attribution [standpoint]?’” Payton explained. “When you watch him [Mims] return, you see him put his foot in the ground and you see his speed. Just talking to the offensive staff, [I said,] ‘Let’s come up with a tag that puts him…’ We’ve seen this before with different type of players. Whether it’s been Deebo [Samuel] or Kordell [Stewart]. He gives us a different speed element. There’s certain running schemes that he would be very comfortable with.
“Then the other thing what’s interesting is when you send him in the game with two other receivers, a tight end and a fullback. You think you’re in base, but you’re getting a nickel defense because they get — they’re looking at it as three receivers, a tight end and [Michael] Burton is playing halfback. It was just creating a package that some weeks we can expand on. Just trying to find ways to get him touches within the framework of what we do. I told him last week, you’re not changing positions but there are some things that I think he can help us with and we’ll try to look at it weekly.”
Mims isn’t switching to running back full-time, but this is a way for the Broncos to get him some more touches while also making scheming more difficult for defenses. So the receiver will likely continue to get occasional snaps at running back.
“He did a really good job,” fellow receiver Courtland Sutton said. “There were a couple of times I was on the backside on a couple of his runs. You’ll see him catch the edge and it was kind of like a punt return. You’ll see him catch the edge and he has that get up. To see him carry the ball and to handle those carries that they gave him that responsibility of carrying the ball, the way he handled it was really fun to see.
“He is explosive and dynamic with the ball in his hands. We get to see it on punt returns and kick returns. When he gets the ball on offense, he has those glimpses of the excitement he brings because of his speed. Watching him carry the ball is pretty fun and seeing him get some yards. I think there is more to come. It will be nice to see him continue to grow in our offense for sure.”
Through ten games this season, Mims has 15 touches on offense for 103 yards from scrimmage plus 389 yards on returns. We’ll see if he starts getting more opportunities in the final stretch of the season.
