ClutchPoints
After making the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, the Denver Broncos carried their momentum into 2025 with an encouraging incoming rookie class. Now, with the most optimism they have had since winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have an intriguing offseason ahead of Sean Payton’s third season.
Without much cap space, the Broncos made just a couple of notable signings in free agency. Denver added defensive stars Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw, but could not afford to make any other meaningful moves until signing veteran running back J.K. Dobbins in early June. Instead, general manager George Paton spent the majority of his focus on the 2025 NFL Draft.
Denver added seven players from the draft, including four on the first two days. Like free agency, the team did not have enough capital to draft as many rookies as others. Regardless, the Broncos’ quality over quantity approach in the 2025 offseason set up several compelling positional battles in the coming months.
Coming off their first double-digit win season since 2015 — their most recent Super Bowl season — expectations for the Broncos are high. Despite rifling through six head coaches and eight starting quarterbacks in the last 10 years, Denver seemingly found its ideal combination moving forward. The hopeful franchise has a lot to work with in the 2025 offseason, giving almost no player on its current roster any guarantees.
The Broncos had high hopes for Marvin Mims when they drafted him in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He improved his production in his second season, but it just has not been enough. The team expected Mims to elevate the offense as a complementary deep threat to Courtland Sutton, but his inconsistency has yet to even make him a full-time starter.
After a semi-promising rookie campaign, Mims entered 2024 as one of Denver’s top breakout candidates. However, he failed to make a lasting impact, starting just two games for the Broncos all season – five fewer than he did as a rookie. Mims ended the year as Bo Nix’s second-leading receiver with 503 receiving yards, but played just 27 percent of the offensive snaps on the year.
Of Mims’ 503 receiving yards, 341 of them came in the final five games of the year. His strong finish is an encouraging sign moving forward. One just has to wonder how long the Broncos will keep buying into his potential and overlooking his frustrating inconsistency. With Denver drafting Pat Bryant in the third round, Mims’ window might already be closing.
Bryant’s 6-foot-2, 204-pound frame is already where the Broncos want it to be. Bryant nabbed 10 touchdowns in his final season at Illinois, showing off his lanky physique and contested catch ability. Payton and Nix seem to already like him, with the rookie developing an early rapport with his quarterback.
Even if it is not Bryant, Mims’ job is far from safe. Second-year wideout Troy Franklin, Nix’s college teammate, is reportedly...
