The Denver Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle, and the only thing Mims knows is that things will be different.
The Denver Broncos made a splashy trade in the offseason to add receiver Jaylen Waddle, and when he first arrived the rest of the Broncos receiving corps was all in on what he would bring to the table. They also ignored the fact that Waddle would take away catches and stats from the rest of the group, but the lone receiver to push back on that was Marvin Mims Jr., who said he was unsure of how the trade would affect his role going forward.
Mims talked to Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post about this recently, and he’s now straddling the party line. Half of Mims’ comments in the piece were Waddle compliments, but he still understands that not every aspect of this change is going to be good for his career.
“It’s going to be different. It’s going to be real different,” Mims said last week during an appearance in Denver. “I’m looking forward to it. Year 4, I’m getting old real fast. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Whether that’s entirely true is still up for debate. Mims has new coaches now that receivers coach Keary Colbert and offensive coordinator have been fired, and his new coordinator is Davis Webb. Mims may have started the offseason thinking he might get a bigger role going into his fourth year, but now that’s very much up in the air.
“We’ll see,” he said when asked about his role. “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.”
The biggest impact of the Waddle trade will be to Mims’ snap count. The Broncos got Waddle to be an every-down player along with Courtland Sutton, which means the Broncos’ third receiver at any given moment could be Mims, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant or someone else.
But no one else can do what Mims can do as a returner, and he knows it. That’s his ace in the hole, but it sounds like he doesn’t really want to use it.
“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.”