An argument can be made that Detroit Lions wide receiver Denzel Mims has been as big a victim of circumstance as a second-round bust from the 2020 draft. To sum up his three years with the New York Jets is brief. He missed the first six games of his career. In his first six games with then-heralded Jets savior Sam Darnold, he caught 19 passes for 325 yards and had at least one catch of 23 or more yards in five of them. When the Jets moved on to Zach Wilson in 2021, in his final six games, Mims was targeted nine times and caught just one of them for four yards. Last season, he played in just 10 games – because he was inactive seven times and caught 11 passes in the 10 he played. It seemed clear he wasn’t a good fit with what the Jets wanted to do.
Make no mistake. Mims isn’t a bum. He has legit 4.38 speed, but the Jets have proved organizationally willing to move on from first-round quarterbacks quicker than most – much less second-round receivers. Loyalty is in short supply with the Jets.
The window of opportunity for Mims was minimal at the end of last season and made worse with the signing of Aaron Rodgers and the arrival of his running buddies Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb to go along with significant franchise investments made in Corey Davis and Garrett Wilson. It was time for Mims to go. He was the WR5, at best, in New York.
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His release was eventual, but the Lions saw enough in him to offer a minimal trade deal – a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 for a seventh-round pick from the Jets in 2025. If Mims doesn’t make the 53-man roster in 2023, the deal is off and everybody walks away.
In the NFL, once a guy leaves the team facility, those who kept quiet start talking. Mims isn’t immune. The word from Florham Park was that Mims struggled to pick up the offense at an elemental level. He comes to the Lions with a clean slate to prove himself and show he can make an impact.
Fantasy football impact
If Mims wants to reclaim his career, the best thing he has going for him is a Lions offense that is going to throw 600 times or more this season. The suspension of Jameson Williams for the first six games of the season will be critical for Mims to make an impression beyond being a core special teams player.
In terms of fantasy value, Mims will be drafted by friends and relatives only. That said, he is a player to watch – the Lions open the 2023 season in the Thursday opener. Depending on what you see in snap counts and production, he could be the first roster pickup in your league, but having never shown any semblance of sustainability, he doesn’t have fantasy value until he’s shown it. He’s a reactive fantasy commodity, not a proactive one.