The Denver Broncos have finalized their 53-man roster for the regular season ahead of Week 1.
That is not to say that changes and future plans are not being made during the campaign. The Broncos invited four wide receivers for workouts, including one of QB Zach Wilson’s old New York Jets colleagues.
“#Broncos worked out Kaden Davis, Leon Johnson, Lance McCutcheon, and Denzel Mims,” KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson wrote on September 10 on X.
Mims was taken with the 59th overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Jets.
He spent the first three seasons of his career in New York, including 2021 and 2022 as teammates with Wilson (and 2020 with lineman John Franklin-Myers). The Jets traded Mims to the Detroit Lions in July 2023, but he was waived in August due to injury.
Mims joined the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad in October and remained there through the 2023 season.
The Steelers signed Mims to a reserve/futures contract in January, but waived him the next day.
He signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in June but was part of their pre-deadline roster cuts at the end of August. Mims has 42 receptions for 676 yards across his four-year career, with his latest catch coming in a regular-season game in 2022.
According to Pro Football Reference, he has never caught a touchdown pass during the regular season and has only caught 52.3% of receptions thrown his way.
Despite sharing a last name, Mims and Broncos receiver Marvin Mims are not related.
Denzel Mims Fits Broncos’ Wide Receiver Room
The 6-foot-3 Mims would fit in with the Broncos’ wide receiver room, which has four of the five guys on the roster listed at the same height or taller. Two of the three receivers on the practice squad are 6-foot-3 or taller.
The Broncos relied on that in their season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
During the NFL Annual Meeting in March, Broncos head coach Sean Payton predicted that Mims would see an increase in snaps following Jerry Jeudy’s trade to the Cleveland Browns.
He finished with the fifth-most snaps at the position against Seattle. Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds, veteran starters, finished the game with more snaps than him. Devaughn Vele, an undrafted rookie free agent, and veteran practice squad call-up Lil’Jordan Humphrey also made the cut.
Troy Franklin Jr., a rookie fourth-round draft pick (6’3″), was inactive in Week 1.
Broncos Work Out 2022 Training Camp Davis (6-foot-1) is a long-time member. He attended the Broncos’ 2022 training camp as an undrafted rookie free agent. He also played for the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals. McCutcheon has yet to record a stat during the regular season.
McCutcheon was a rookie UDFA for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022.
As a rookie, he played 10 games and started one. McCutcheon finished the season with 0 receptions. He also played almost twice as many snaps on special teams as he did on offence.
Johnson is a 6-foot-3 rookie UDFA from Oklahoma State. He played one season for the Cowboys after transferring from D-III school George Fox in January 2023. Bringing in Mims and others demonstrates that the Broncos still value size over speed at the wide receiver position.
Leave a Reply