Marvin Mims Jr. earned some weekly hardware for his 48-yard punt-return touchdown Sunday in Las Vegas.
The Broncos’ third-year wide receiver and ace return man was named the AFC’s special teams player of the week for Week 14.
Mims also had two kick returns for 39 yards, a catch for 5 and a rush for 2, but the big blow came in the middle of the second quarter.
The former second-round draft pick fielded a punt, got bottled up in a big mass of bodies and then somehow spit out of it to the left sideline. From there, he got a good block from JL Skinner on punter A.J. Cole and raced to the end zone. The score gave Denver a 14-7 lead and put the Broncos in control of what eventually became their 10th straight win, a 24-17 victory over the Raiders.
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Mims has been one of the best return men on both punts and kickoffs since he got to the league, but Sunday marked his first career punt-return touchdown. He’s also got a 99-yard kick-return touchdown against Miami in 2023 on his ledger.
Mims now leads the NFL in punt-return yards this year (394) and is fourth in punt-return average (16.4).
“He was our first draft pick, (general manager George Paton) and I,” head coach Sean Payton said of Mims this week. “I remember there were two things we felt — it’s been embedded in me that the quickest way to improve a team is the kicking game and to get the offensive line squared away. We didn’t have a returner. I remember when we were watching his film, we knew he was a captain at Oklahoma. We knew he was an accomplished receiver, but he was also, we felt, one of the better returners, if not the best returner, in the draft.
“Then, I would say he’s exceeded our expectation as to what type of guy he is, how he works, what kind of teammate he is.”
Mims’ production and role as a receiver have fluctuated, and he’s been mostly a gadget-type player in Denver’s offense this year. Mims is perhaps the Broncos’ most dangerous player down the field, but he hasn’t had a target of 10-plus air yards since Week 7 against the New York Giants.
A year ago, the 5-foot-10 receiver caught fire down the stretch of the season, compiling a pair of 100-plus yard outings, 341 yards total and five touchdowns in the Broncos’ final five games.
Could a late-season surge be in the cards for Mims again this year?
“Honestly, just coming out of a staff meeting, we have to continue to find more touches for him on the offensive side of the ball, and we’ll do that,” Payton said.
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