Cincinnati Bengals Select Amarius Mims in the First Round of the 2024 NFL Draft—A Wise Move.
Cincinnati — The Bengals’ choice on Thursday night was the right one.
They had the option to pass on Amarius Mims. With only eight collegiate starts under his belt, not many would have blamed them for passing on an offensive tackle.
Rather, they selected an offensive lineman who may have had the biggest ceiling in a competitive class.
At 6-7 and 340 pounds, Mims is an incredible athlete. At Georgia, he played in thirty games. His debut came against Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs.
If you’ve ever seen him walk through a door, you know that he has incalculable qualities. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor stated, “There’s a lot there to work with that we’re really excited about.” “Just wait till tomorrow when he answers questions while seated here. He is very remarkable. He does a good job carrying it. He has a really endearing personality. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun for you all to get to know him and have conversations with him. And once more, we believe he has a great deal of promise.
Many NFL experts, including scouts, think that Mims has a good chance of winning this class’s top offensive lineman award. Superior than Olu Fashanu, JC Latham, and Joe Alt? Why? because athleticism, size, and strength cannot be taught.
Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher stated, “We’re all of the opinion that the only reason he’s here for us to pick at 18 is probably because he only has eight starts.” “There is very little chance that we will even get to pick him if he had played this entire season the way he played on the tape we saw.”
Related: Amarius Mims’s Movie Analysis and Cincinnati Bengals Fit
Mims, who played on the right side at Georgia, will man the tackle positions. In the Bengals’ pass-first offence, how does he fit in?
“He has length and he plays with tremendous length. He’s 340 (pounds) but he doesn’t look like he’s 340,” Pitcher said. “He moves a lot better than what you’d expect a player of that weight to move (like). He stays in really good position. He’s seemingly unaffected by speed and bull (rushes). He plays under control. He’s comfortable. It’s all the things that you want to see out of a guy that size to project to being a high end pass protector in the NFL.”
Mims is inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean he’s a project. The Bengals will likely call on him to play this season. It could be Week 1. Maybe it’s Week 10. They like what they saw on tape, even if it’s more limited than some of the other prospects in this class.
“With Amarius, we just kept coming back to, it’s maybe not as many snaps, but the snaps that were there, you saw a lot of the things that you want to see,” Pitcher said. “You didn’t come away from those snaps being like, ‘Man, he left these two or three boxes unchecked.’ We saw enough in that sample size that we feel really good about the pick.”
close to hitting his ceiling as a player, he could still be productive in the NFL for a long time. So sure, there’s risk, but the risk is worth the reward.
The Bengals are hoping to protect Joe Burrow. They took an freaky-athletic offensive lineman that’s inexperienced, but has a chance to be great. That deserves praise, not criticism.
He might be able to contribute in the NFL for a considerable amount of time as he approaches his playing potential. Yes, there is a risk, but the payoff justifies the risk.
The Bengals want to keep Joe Burrow safe. They selected a young offensive tackle with amazing athleticism who has the potential to be very good. Not criticism, but praise is due for that.
