Sean Payton says its about ‘getting those touches’ for WR Marvin Mims Jr.

Posted by Admin June 16, 2026 NFL

One problem the Denver Broncos will face is keeping all of the young talent they’ve stacked under George Paton and Sean Payton. They have been very busy extending those core young players by leading the NFL in total spend despite a very quiet free agency period. They didn’t need free agents. They needed to lock down their star players.

All-Pro return specialist and wide receiver, Marvin Mims Jr., was one such young core player that Denver has not yet extended — though there has been chatter at various times about it. He even changed agents recently, which could be a sign of renewed negotiation with the Broncos or a transition to looking at free agency next season.

Some feel like he has to convince the Broncos he is worthy of a new contract, but head coach Sean Payton doesn’t see that at all. Instead, he sees the need to get Mims more touches. Because when gets those touches, big plays happen.

“He doesn’t need to convince us,” Payton said on Tuesday. “I feel like each week when we go in to game planning, we’re always talking about certain things, and his name, I know, comes up from me. Every time we continue to ask him down the field, give him these opportunities, he takes advantage of it. He’s been very consistent. It’s just a matter of getting those touches. But very important games, even in Buffalo—I could point to a number of games. It’s a good problem to have, but he’s doing well.”

After securing a second-team All-Pro as a rookie and a first-team All-Pro in 2024, he had kind of a “down” year. He did have a punt return for a touchdown, but it was as a receiver where the production fell off. He only had two fewer receptions, but 181 fewer yards and 5 fewer touchdowns. He had the same number of targets relatively and did not alter the game as much.

That was until the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. He and Bo Nix sync’d up for eight catches for 93 yards and a massive touchdown. He would add another four catches and 62 yards with Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship game.

That’s the thing. Mims is a playmaker, but a gadgety one. Is that a guy the team will want to spend $15M a year on? I’m just not so sure. He is a Bronco for 2026, though, and I’m a huge fan of the things he does for this team. My hope is that he breaks out and the Broncos will be scrambling to sign him to a long-term deal before free agency. That would be the best of both worlds.