No rookies are handed a starting position. Marvin Mims will have to compete for the punt return job this summer, but he’s clearly the early favorite to win that role.
Before the draft, Broncos coach Sean Payton hinted that Denver was looking for a new returner at the NFL owners’ meetings. Then the Broncos traded up into the second round of the draft to select Mims, who ran a 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds at the combine.
His speed stood out on film.
“The one thing that I think we found that was different was lot of these receivers you felt were in rush hour traffic — Monday through Friday,” Payton said. “This was one that looked like he was driving on Saturday and Sunday. He was open, and it was cleaner. That’s because of his speed.”
Payton replaced most of Denver’s coaching staff this offseason and brought in Ben Kotwica as the new special teams coordinator and Mike Westhoff as an assistant head coach with an emphasis on special teams. Payton believes those coaches will get the most out of Mims as a returner.
“When you have a guy like Kotwica and Mike Westhoff — we feel like he’s one of the best return coaches that’s ever coached in the NFL” Payton said. “To have a prospect come in and compete was exciting for us.”
Mims returned 33 punts for 391 yards in three years at Oklahoma, averaging 16 yards per return in 2022. He also returned three kickoffs for 108 yards.
“I’ve done punt return and kick returner,” Mims said. “Kick return — I’ve kind of been in and out as they let younger guys do it. Punt return — I’ve started ever since I was a true freshman in college with my first career game. I’m really comfortable with it. It’s something I’ve done for three years, and I’m excited to bring that to the next level if that’s my role for the team.”
This offseason, the Broncos signed cornerback Tremon Smith, who has returned 94 kickoffs for 2,323 yards in his career. Again, nobody will be handed a starting job, but Smith (kickoffs) and Mims (punts) appear to be the obvious favorites to handle return duties in Denver this fall.
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