In his first 2 NFL seasons, Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims has carved out a very specific and valuable niche on special teams, where he’s already a 2-time NFL All-Pro return specialist.
The Broncos’ 24-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14 showed why Mims is about to become a 3-time NFL All-Pro after an electric, 48-yard punt return touchdown to give his team a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
Mims — nicknamed “Mile High Marv” — punctuated the score with a Mile High Salute as the Broncos won their 10th consecutive game and improved to 11-2 overall.
“Sometimes they call me ‘Mile High Marv’ in the wide receivers room, so I wanted to save (the Mile High Salute) for something special,” Mims told reporters after the win. “And that was the first punt return touchdown of my career, so it seemed like a good time to do it.”
Mims Continues to Make History For Broncos
Mims has led the NFL in one return category in each of his first 2 seasons. In 2023, he led the league in kick return touchdowns and longest kick return (99 yards). In 2024, he led the NFL in punt return average (15.7 yards).
In 2025, he’s on track to lead the league in punt return yards. Mims cracked 1,000 all-purpose yards in each of his first 2 seasons and already has 1,260 all-purpose yards with 4 regular season games remaining. That’s also despite missing 2 games due to a concussion.
The Broncos selected Mims, 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, in the second round (No. 63 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft after he wowed at the NFL scouting combine with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash to go with a 39.5-inch vertical leap and 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump.
Mims is also on track to make his third consecutive Pro Bowl.
On his punt return touchdown against the Raiders, Mims appeared hemmed in by a half-dozen defenders at one point before popping out and taking it to the house.
“Marvin Mims somehow escaped that mess and took it all the way to the end zone,” Mile High Report wrote on its official X account.
“Marvin Mims is a magician,” That’s Good Sports wrote on its official X account. ” … The House loss in Vegas, baby!!!!”
Broncos Struggle to Incorporate Mims in Offense
While Mims has been arguably the NFL’s elite special teams player throughout his first 3 seasons, the knock on the Broncos have been their struggles to incorporate him on offense.
Mims seemed headed in that direction with 39 receptions for 503 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 23 receptions for 341 yards and 5 touchdowns over the final 5 games of the regular season, including a pair of 100-yard receiving games against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.
“Listen, I’m no football expert, but Marvin Mims appears to be the one true playmaker this team has offensively,” The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal wrote on his official X account. “Why is it so hard to get this guy consistently involved in the offense? They seemed to figure out how to do that at the end of last season and then gave up.”
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