The Broncos are turning to one of their most interesting rookies earlier than expected, and Marvin Mims Jr.’s foot injury is the reason why.
Kolbe Katsis, a rookie wide receiver and return specialist, is being elevated for Sunday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams, giving Denver a look at a player who made his case during the preseason. The Broncos were said to be searching for kickoff and punt return help during the 2026 NFL Draft, but they never spent a pick on that kind of specialist. That left Katsis, signed after the draft, as a name that suddenly mattered.
He made the most of his chance in the preseason. Katsis returned 6 kickoffs for 187 yards, good for a 31.2-yard average, and also had another long kickoff return wiped out by a penalty. On punts, he handled 3 returns for 48 yards, an average of 16 yards per return.
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That kind of juice is exactly what Denver needs right now. Mims has been out for much of the preseason and training camp, and the Broncos have also been without him for most of the first two games of the season. He’s in a contract year, hoping to play his way into a new deal in Denver or elsewhere, but the timing of the injury could not be worse.
Without him, the return game has not looked sharp. Tyler Badie provided a decent return against the Jaguars, but beyond that the Broncos have struggled on both kickoffs and punts. They even turned to Kris Abrams-Draine for punt return duty after not giving him those reps in training camp.
Denver’s roster juggling has made the move easier to understand. The team has already been using practice squad elevations on fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni. With Jonah Coleman going on injured reserve and missing the next four games, Fraboni has been signed to the 53-man roster, and Katsis is getting the call for an elevation.
The Broncos won’t officially confirm everything until game time, but they wouldn’t use one of Katsis’s elevations this early in the season just to keep him inactive.
If Katsis gets the chance, the job is simple: flip the field.
The Broncos are hoping this elevation turns into more than a one-night appearance. The best-case path is that Katsis plays well enough against the Rams to earn another elevation next week and keep building toward a 53-man roster spot.
But first things first. He doesn’t need to think about the roster yet.
He just needs to make plays in the return game, where he came awfully close to breaking a couple of touchdowns in the preseason. Against the Rams in Week 3, Denver is counting on him to bring that same burst.
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Justin Herbert has drawn criticism for some of his decision-making, while Jim Harbaugh has been publicly supportive and demanding at the same time, trying to push more from his quarterback and the team around him. There have also been signs of friction inside the locker room, with Derwin James calling out the sloppiness. Denver does not need a rival collapse to be perfect, but this is the sort of early opening contenders watch closely. [Read more 🡒]