Broncos WR Marvin Mims Jr. unsure of contract-year role, but ‘excited' for 2026
DENVER - Marvin Mims' career in Denver has been a bit of a paradox.
He has become a constant, the second-longest-tenured receiver on the Broncos' roster, yet his role has constantly been in flux.
He mans a unique spectrum of positions, but has never settled into consistent usage at any of them outside of returning punts and kickoffs.
He is the Broncos' first draft pick of the Sean Payton era, but has not become the kind of staple player so many others have over the past three seasons.
He is headed into a crossroads season in 2026, the final of his rookie contract, despite having just turned 24 years old.
Now he's back in Denver for the club's offseason program, the next step in what has already been a period of change all around one of the Broncos' steadiest players.
"It's going to be different. It's going to be real different," Mims said of the upcoming season on Friday after he and fellow receiver Pat Bryant dished out more than 200 pairs of sneakers to kids at Kaiser Elementary School. "I'm looking forward to it. Year 4, I'm getting old real fast. But I'm looking forward to it."
Mims is hardly getting old, but he's right about the rest of it.
After the season ended, Payton fired receivers coach Keary Colbert and coordinator Joe Lombardi and told reporters - not for the first time - that one of the takeaways from his initial staff debrief was the need to use Mims more.
That, of course, was before Payton promoted Davis Webb to offensive coordinator and handed him play-calling duties. Before Payton hired Ronald Curry as his new receivers coach, Willie Snead IV as a quality control coach and John Morton as passing game coordinator. Before Denver swung a blockbuster trade for star receiver Jaylen Waddle.
If Mims started the offseason thinking he was in for a bigger role going into Year 4, does he have any idea what it will look like after all that upheaval?
"We'll see," he said. "Things are going to change offensively, for sure, with Davis Webb being there. Me, for the past three years, I've done a little bit of everything. We'll see what they come up with this offseason. Luckily, I'm able to do stuff on special teams as well.
"One thing I've taken pride in the past three years is just making an impact on the team however I can. Different moments of the game, wherever we need. I just try my best to try to get the job done, try to do my best."
Waddle is the type of player who won't just have an impact on Mims' playing time. He will change the orbit of Denver's offense entirely.
He's going to be on the field a ton, along with Courtland Sutton. The Broncos' third receiver could at any given time be Mims, Bryant, Troy Franklin or somebody else.
Waddle is going to command defensive attention and command targets, too.
"Every time I hear about Jaylen Waddle, I just immediately think back to his days at Alabama," said Mims, speaking to reporters for the first time since the March trade. "A guy who is gritty, did a lot, explosive, fast, tough player. I don't remember what he hurt, but I just remember him trying to play in the national championship game with something broken. That just tells you who he is as a person.
"He's had a heck of a career in Miami, and I think we're lucky to be with him."
Mims called it "weird" to be going into a contract year and said he hasn't had any conversations with the Broncos about a potential extension, though he said it was possible his agent had.
He and the Broncos know each other well at this point. He's one of the best return men in the game, and whenever Denver has needed him to step up, he has.
He caught fire down the stretch of the 2024 season. When injuries hit in the postseason earlier this year, Mims caught all eight targets for 93 yards and a last-minute, go-ahead touchdown in a divisional-round win over Buffalo.
He doesn't know how much run he'll get this fall, let alone if he'll be in line to surpass the 45 targets he's averaged over his first three seasons.
He thinks things will be different, though, and that, even with Waddle's arrival, might be a good thing.
"For me, it's just answering the door when the bell is rung," he said. "I feel like I've done that pretty well the past three years, but when I get my opportunities, make the most of it. Be a good teammate and assist the team in however many ways they want. This year, the team we have, the roster we have, how far we went last year, we're all expecting a Super Bowl this year. …
"We all want to take that next step this year and we need people that are willing to be selfless and put their best foot forward, no matter what it looks like and try to get us back to that next level."
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 9:35 PM.