Does Denzel Mims have the potential to be a long-term WR1 for the Jets? Sam Crnic breaks down Mims’ NCAA All-22 film at Baylor.
2020 Jets draft class film breakdowns:
While the New York Jets feel like they found their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold, they haven’t put much around him to facilitate development. The days of having LaDainian Tomlinson, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes are long gone, with nothing comparable since besides the trio of Chris Ivory, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in 2015. Outside of Le’Veon Bell, Darnold’s supporting cast has been subpar at best throughout his first two years.
With Robby Anderson heading to the Panthers, the Jets decided to pick up Breshad Perriman as a short-term replacement, but they eventually need to find the “true No. 1 WR” that every team so desperately covets.
Joe Douglas had to address this in the draft. With the 59th overall pick, he found his high-upside WR prospect in Texas native Denzel Mims.
- Hometown: Daingerfield, TX
- High School: Daingerfield High School (TX)
- Position: WR
- School: Baylor
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 207 pounds
An extraordinary pass-catcher from an athletic and physical standpoint, Denzel Mims looks to improve the Jets’ wide receiver room immediately. Along with being an all-state receiver at Daingerfield High School, Mims was a state-champion sprinter, something that is evidently exhibited on the football field as well. A member of the 2019 First Team All Big-12, Denzel ranks fifth in Baylor history with 186 career receptions. In addition, Mims ranks third in school history with 28 receiving touchdowns throughout his career.
Asked about his skillset in relation to the other WRs in his draft class, Mims confidently responded:
“I’m a team player, I really know every position on the field… I know what to expect, I know what I want to do and I have a game plan of each route. They just love that about me and I pretty much interview well and I know my game, I know my stuff.”
Film
Off the ball, Mims (far left) notices his defender’s stance: close feet with the intention to play outside leverage. He attacks with this the shuffling of his feet, seamlessly getting his defender off-balance in the process.
He stems inside, eventually stopping near the first-down marker to create separation. Mims achieves this through the lowering of his hips and dipping his shoulder lower than the DB’s. Denzel forcibly plants his lead foot into the ground, giving him balance to run after the catch.
With the defender already off-balance, he misses the initial tackle on Mims, allowing a nice run after the catch.
Even with pretty good coverage off the stem and break, I really liked QB Charlie Brewer’s ability to lead the pass to the sideline for Mims (far left). With just enough room to reel in the pass with his chest, Mims once again breaks the initial tackle and works his way up the field. Instead of going out of bounds to avoid contact, Denzel does the opposite. He welcomes the physicality, earning a couple of extra yards as a result.
With a shifted Tampa 2 look to the right side, Mims (far left) takes notice of the deep safety on his side of the field backpedaling, which gives him ample room to the inside. Brewer makes the correct decision and hits Denzel in stride with space. After the catch, Mims lets the blocks develop in front of him, which gives him room to the right side of the field. A DB takes a perfect swipe at the ball, forcing it loose from Mim’s arms. Luckily for the star WR, the ball drifts out of bounds.
With a clear off-sides from the defense, Brewer takes a shot to Mims (far right) towards the sideline. In an attempt to put it where only Mims can get it, he underthrows the pass to the outside where the Baylor WR makes an outstanding acrobatic catch. He keeps one of his feet on the ground as he extends his arms for the grab. Denzel does a beautiful job of contorting his hips back to the pass, essentially boxing out his defender for the nice gain.
Sorry, the content stops here if you’re not a Jet X Member, or viewing from an outside source such as Google AMP or an RSS Feed where logged-in status is not possible.
Get Started with the button below to access this Jets X-Factor article and the best damn New York Jets content in the world for free (after becoming a member, search for this article near the bottom of the Membership Confirmation page):
