Marvin Mims Jr.’s TD catch was just what the wideout needed

The Denver Broncos won their preseason opener in a somewhat exciting game on Sunday. They beat the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 34-30, and we learned plenty about Sean Payton’s unit as they enter the second season under his guidance.

After the game, Payton seemed pleased with his team’s performance.

“We saw in the game live, obviously pleased for us to come in and get the win. There’s going to be a lot of
tape that we like. Then there’s going to be a handful of things that we’ve got to get cleaned up. And really,
when you look at the ball security issues – we had four fumbles. That has to be better. We talked about it
coming into this game, this defense does a good job. They play a lot more zone coverage. They try to
separate the ball from the receivers or runners, and so we’re fortunate in that regards to still get the win. I
didn’t like the penalties. I think we had five on offense, one on defense, but we played the run pretty well
defensively. I thought overall, the red zone efficiency was solid,” Payton said.

Here are three observations from Sunday’s win over the Colts.

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No Sacks

It was cool to see the Broncos quarterbacks not take any sacks. Sure, there was pressure at times on guys like Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix, and Zach Wilson but nobody was sacked. I liked the way all three quarterbacks played under pressure, and it was good to see the Colts defense blanked when it came to getting home against them.

Last year, Russell Wilson took too many sacks. A small percentage of that can be attributed to the offensive line, but perhaps as much as 75 percent of those can be attributed to Wilson himself. The Payton offense is set to get rid of the ball quickly, but Wilson would too often hang onto the ball too long.

Stidham, Nix, and Wilson all did a good job of getting the ball out on time. This is why the pass-catchers for the Broncos offense looked so good on Sunday. The passers did not waste time or freeze under duress. Instead, all three quarterbacks did a good job of diagnosing plays quickly. After that, they did a good job of deciding to pass to the open man or take off and run. This is a breath of fresh air for the Broncos – and I’m sure it was noticed by Payton.

Payton was happy with no sacks.

“Yeah, listen, ball (is) out. I like the timing, the tempo of when we’re releasing it. That was a big issue for
us a year ago with the minus plays. We were towards the back, back half of the league – I think fourth.
So, I was pleased with the timing of what we were doing throwing the ball. It’s important,” Payton said.

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Rookie Shine

The Broncos have a talented draft class. Nix is at the head of the class, but he’s not the only rookie to flash against the Colts on Sunday. Payton has promised that this is a class that could be one of the best, and in training camp they’ve made plays. The rookies followed up strong practices with good debuts in the preseason.

Yes, it’s just the preseason but I like what rookie running back Audric Estime showed on Sunday. He’s a powerful runner who is tough to bring down when he builds a head of steam. The Broncos have Javonte Williams as their starter, but Estime showed that he could be counted on to move the chains as a reserve runner (and perhaps a future starter).

Rookie pass rusher Jonah Elliss looked like a gamer on Sunday. He’s had an up-and-down performance in training camp, but I like that Elliss seems to be getting better as time goes on. Against the Colts, Elliss was constantly putting pressure on the opponents’ quarterback. What was on film in college came through in his pro debut. Elliss has a non-stop motor, and he doesn’t quit in his pursuit of the quarterback. It’s super early, and it’s just preseason, but it’s good to see Elliss is at his best when the lights are on.

Payton liked what his rookies showed on Sunday.

“Overall, they’ve been pretty consistent in camp, encouraged. There’s still obviously a lot of work for those
guys to do. But man, they’re all – they all show that they can find a way to contribute. Now, it’s cleaning
up some of the other things, but I have been encouraged,” Payton said.

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Marvin Needed That

Marvin Mims Jr. has not had a great training camp. He’s entering his second year, and I had hopes he could take big steps to being at least the no.2 receiver for the Broncos in the 2024 season. That has not happened. Instead, Mims looks like he could be the no.3 receiver for the Broncos behind Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds.

He’s fast, but Mims is not polished as a route runner. I believe that Mims is better than he was last year as a rookie, but his performance in training camp makes it clear that much work remains. We’ve seen Mims yell at his coaches (and they yell back at him) during camp, and sometimes he seems frustrated by his lack of targets on offense.

That was a bit different on Sunday. Nix hit Mims on a quick out to score a touchdown for the Broncos. It was a well-designed play, and Mims did a great job of getting open for the quick score. If he can do that in the regular season while running better downfield routes, then perhaps Mims will take that next step. Either way, I’m giving him time to develop and I appreciate the current role (although limited) that he has for the Broncos.

Nix was all smiles talking about his first touchdown pass to Mims.

“It was a nice play by Marv (Marvin Mims Jr.). He did a good job of getting to the corner, and we executed
well. We’ve been practicing and repping that play quite a lot, and they bumped it off and had some space,
and we were able to get a touchdown. But overall, just felt like it was good to get out there and throw
some completions and see a new defense, and ultimately, just get out there and compete,” Nix said.

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