Week 14 was Denzel Mims’ time to shine. With Corey Davis and Elijah Moore out due to injury, the second-year wide receiver was poised to step into the increased role that has eluded him all season.
Instead, Mims sabotaged his best opportunity yet to show the Jets he fits in their offensive plans for the future.
Mims was targeted just once in New York’s 30-9 loss to the Saints on Sunday. He finished without a reception. His only contributions were negative ones, as he almost single-handedly pushed the Jets out of field goal range at the end of the first half with two senseless penalties.
“I’ll speak for him and I’m sure he’ll echo it: He’s gotta be better,” Robert Saleh said after the game. “Just from a responsibility standpoint and just the penalties in the first half. It wasn’t his cleanest and I’m sure it’s something he’ll get better at.”
Mims was effectively benched after his string of mistakes, playing sparingly in the second half. D.J. Montgomery, who was elevated from the practice squad less than 24 hours before kickoff, took on the role Mims was supposed to play, catching three of six targets for 36 yards.
“He’ll get his opportunity next week,” Saleh said of Mims. “It’s not like anyone is coming back [from injury]. He’s very capable. Obviously, he’s missed a couple of weeks and he has to hit the ground running. He’s got to get himself going again with regards to the gameplan and the urgency and the discipline he had caught himself up to.”
Mims has had a difficult sophomore season for an assortment of reasons. His second offseason in the NFL was about as rough as it gets, as he missed an extended period of time and lost weight due to food poisoning. Mims did his best to work his way back from that, but he ultimately tumbled down the depth chart as he got up to speed on expanding his route tree in Mike LaFleur’s offense.
Mims seemed to be making progress with a combined eight targets in Weeks 8 and 9, but he landed on the COVID-19 list and missed nearly a month before returning against the Eagles in Week 13.
Time might be running out for Mims to prove himself to the Jets’ new regime — even if nobody is coming back anytime soon. He has just eight catches for 133 yards in seven games and Zach Wilson has developed chemistry with other wideouts. Mims has the talent to be a viable deep threat, but New York might not be the place for him with the way things have played out recently.
[listicle id=673241]