ENGLEWOOD, Colo — Broncos’ No. 2 receiver Jerry Jeudy was not traded last week, which leads to a follow-up question of offensive importance.
How to get explosive rookie receiver Marvin Mims Jr. more action?
Mims flashed big-play ability through the first four games as he had nine catches for a whopping 242 yards – 26.9 yards per catch – that included a 60-yard touchdown. He also had three carries for 13 yards rushing.
But in the Broncos’ last four games Mims had just two catches for four yards and one carry for -11 yards. How did such a big-play weapon become so inert? He did have a 28-yard kickoff return and 31-yard punt return that helped send the Broncos on their way to a skid-busting win against the Chiefs. But he came out of Oklahoma as a receiver by trade; returner as something else to do.
“How do we get Marvin more touches and how do we incorporate him more into what we’re going offensively?’’ Payton said in a media Zoom conference call Monday. “I’m sitting here looking at a notepad with his jersey number on it in front of me. And that’s our job as coaches. We really believe we have a good, young, talented player.
“Obviously, there’s other players on the offense that deserve the same type of attention relative to play design. But we’re going to work out tails off to move that needle where he’s getting opportunities not only in the passing game but he just does a lot of things well and he’s really good with the ball in his hands.”
The solution was not to move Jeudy. He made a contested 39-yard catch on a down-the-middle Russell Wilson pass followed a play later by an 11-yard touchdown reception last week against the Chiefs, which helped draw trade interest from other teams, sources confirmed to 9NEWS. But when no offer reached second-round value, Denver passed and Jeudy stayed.
“Look, he’s an important piece of what we’re doing,’’ Payton said.
Payton said prior to last Tuesday’s trade deadline the Broncos weren’t looking to move any of their players and indeed, the team stood pat, not dealing any of their players.
“I don’t think my words prior to the trade deadline were ever, ‘Hey we’re staying pat,’’ Payton clarified. “It was we’re not the ones being interviewed. Go ask the people that are purchasing. We’re building and putting a team together and we can’t control – we went through this in the offseason with a handful of players. And understandably so. I get it. But it’s harder for us to be speaking on topics like that when we’re not the ones involved in initiating any of the contact.
“When we’re talking about Jerry, he’s a guy we think is dynamic. Sometimes it’s a fickle game where we’re into the fifth week of the season and Brandon Johnson has three touchdowns and Jerry doesn’t have one. Sometimes that’s the nature of the passing game. But each week there’s a lot that goes into what we’re game planning and he played extremely well last week and we think he’s going to be very important for us going forward.”
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