AFC Notes: Gardner Minshew, Marvin Mims, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos HC Sean Payton thinks WR Marvin Mims‘ progress was a bit halted by their coaching staff trying to figure out his specific role last season. 

“Mims, we saw him flourish as a returner,” Payton said, via BroncosWire. “I really think the only thing that really stopped his progress as a receiver was us and trying to find roles. He [was] playing the same position as Jerry [Jeudy]. I’ve said this a number of times, I think you’re going to see a lot of growth with this player. He’s tough, he can run and we’re certainly excited that we have him.”

Payton said Mims has never disappointed them in any position they put him in and expects to see his usage expand in 2024. 

“I think the key is for us — and I say us as coaches in game planning — is evolving. Every time we’ve kind of put his name on a certain play, he hasn’t disappointed. That doesn’t mean the ball always went to him but the point I’m making is I think his progress was hampered a little bit more with the depth in the room, in what we were able to do and sometimes trying to balance that out. I think we’ll see that expand.”

Chiefs

Following the trade of CB L’Jarius Sneed to the Titans, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo brainstormed how they plan to fill the void Sneed left.

“We’ll see. I don’t think anybody is going to replace LJ Sneed,” Spagnuolo said, via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “I thought LJ had a remarkable year in everything that he did. There are some shoes there to fill, whether we do it with one person or two people or shift guys around, we’ll see.”

Raiders

The Raiders signed QB Gardner Minshew in free agency as someone who can challenge QB Aidan O’Connell for the starting job. Minshew has loved the competition so far because of how they have pushed each other to improve. 

“It’s been great,” Minshew said, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “We’ve both put together a good camp so far. We’ve been pushing each other but also just enjoying each other and our room. . . . We’re having a ton of fun right now and being very competitive. I think that’s only going to make our team better.”

“As any real competitor, you don’t want them to be worse. You want yourself to be better. So, the better he is, if I’m beating him out, that means I’m just raising it that much more. That’s how I’ve always viewed it: If he’s pushing me, and he’s completing every pass, I’ve got to figure out a way to do better. That’s the only way to really improve.”