Denver

Broncos

The Broncos defense limps into Miami to take on a supercharged Miami offense. Without Clark — who’s expected to miss a few weeks with a hip injury — and two safeties, the Dolphins could march up and down the field against the Broncos, creating a shootout environment.

Mims played just 16 snaps in Week 2 against the Commanders and caught both of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown, prompting questions about why Mims is not seeing more routes in targets in the Denver offense. The rookie has run a route on 17.3 percent of the team’s drop backs in two games. That spotty usage will likely continue, according to Payton and Broncos OC Joe Lombardi. “You don’t get to run all the plays, and the way the game script goes is just how the calls come out,” Lombardi said. "[Mims] is someone you’re counting on and he’s going to have a role every week. When his number gets called last week, those two plays, the defense cooperated with him to give him those big plays. He’ll have his opportunities every week, for sure.” Mims can be rostered in 12-team leagues but he’s not yet playable.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed that Simmons was “rehabbing” but didn’t say the specific injury. The safety missed multiple weeks in the preseason with a groin injury, so perhaps that has flared back up. Regardless, being without their starting safety on Sunday against a potent Miami Dolphins passing attack would be a concern for Denver.

The Broncos struggled to get to the line of scrimmage in a timely manner during their Week 2 loss to the Commanders, and Payton was forced to use multiple timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties. “I think, No. 1, the first thing that we always try to look at -- but we have to do a better job of as coaches -- is reduce the verbiage,’' Payton said Monday, adding that Russell Wilson would perhaps wear a wristband with play calls on it. He said the team would try to “get to the line of scrimmage spontaneously” in the coming weeks. Wilson and the Broncos struggled with this very issue during their disastrous 2022 season, often failing to get a play in on time. Wilson has drawn criticism for giving pep talks in the huddle while the play clock winds down. Payton’s frustration with Wilson and the offense has been plain to see through two weeks of the regular season.

Jackson avoided suspension for his second egregious hit in as many weeks, but will be in line for a fine once the league finishes reviewing the plays from the week. While he avoided suspension, Jackson is certain to be on the radar of teams and officials in the coming weeks after concussing two players to start the season.

With Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on injured reserve, Trautman ran a nice 69 percent of the team’s routes and saw just one target while Russell Wilson threw 32 passes for 308 yards. Trautman was a fine process play, though it might matter that he’s not good. Fantasy managers should look elsewhere in Week 3.

Jackson will almost certainly be fined by the league, just as he was for his illegal hit on Jakobi Meyers in Week 1 which left Meyers concussed and out for Week 2. Jackson delivered a brutal hit to Thomas’ head in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, and was ejected for the hit, but it sounds like that won’t keep him out for Week 3 against the Dolphins.

Mims is going to be a hot add off of waivers this week. The rookie receiver caught both of his targets and turned them into 113 receiving yards and one touchdown. However, fantasy managers adding Mims should temper expectations heading into Week 3. His 16 snaps ranked fifth amongst Broncos receivers behind Courtland Sutton (59), Jerry Jeudy (45), Brandon Johnson (30), and Lil’Jordan Humphrey (21). Mims’ big day should earn him more playing time in the near future, but Sean Payton has been slow at getting his second-round pick on the field.

Perine saw a fraction of the work he saw in Week 1 when he totaled 78 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches. It didn’t help that the Broncos’ offense was under fire for much of the day, as they struggled to get much going after jumping out to a 21-3 lead. Perine is the clearcut RB2 behind Javonte Williams, and is little more than a high-upside handcuff heading into Week 3 against the Dolphins.

It was a forgettable 2023 debut for Jeudy, who was on the receiving end of Russell Wilson’s first pass attempt on the day. Jeudy fell victim to a productive day from rookie Marvin Mims, and was later hindered by a Broncos offense that struggled for much of the second half. Denver spread the ball around to seven different pass-catchers on the day, but Jeudy still trailed only Courtland Sutton in targets. We’d treat him as a WR3 until the Broncos correct some of their offensive struggles.