Draft Analyst Thinks Amarius Mims is a Project: ‘I’m Not Drafting Him Top 20’

Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims is certainly an intriguing prospect with his massive size and extreme athleticism. The one big knock with him is his lack of experience, however. He started just eight games in college.

NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah does not see Mims as a guy who can start day one, and he might even fall to the second round.

“If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said (Tyler) Guyton and Mims, they’re gonna go ahead of Graham Barton,” Jeremiah said on the Move the Sticks podcast. “What happens as we get to the end, people are like, ‘Man those guys are really talented and maybe next year they’d be top fifteen picks, but there’s just not a lot of starts.’”

Dane Brugler of The Athletic is on the same page as Jeremiah. He likes Mims’ upside, but if he needed a tackle tomorrow, he’s passing on him in the top 20.

“I think he’s more inexperienced than he is truly raw because I think there’s a lot of natural ability there. It’s just, but again, it does take a leap of faith when you’re talking about a guy with eight starts. But just the fact when you throw on the Ohio State game from last year and his first career start ever, and he was that good. I can’t eliminate that from my mind. And it’s like, okay, I want to bet on this in the right situation. If I need a tackle tomorrow, I’m not drafting him top 20,” Brugler said on The Athletic NFL podcast.

The 6-foot-7 3/4, 340-pound Mims certainly has the size and athleticism to be an elite offensive tackle. At the combine, Mims ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash, an impressive time for that size.

As mentioned, the significant questions about Mims’ experience level and injury history are valid. After sitting behind Broderick Jones and others his first two seasons, playing in just two games as a sophomore, Mims played only six games due to injury in 2023, before declaring early for the draft.

“If I can be willing to be a little bit patient and — hopefully he starts for me. I mean, think about Broderick Jones last year for the Steelers. They drafted him 14th overall in the draft last year, and he got some action, but he wasn’t a down-to-down starter for them the entire year,” Brugler said. “And so Mims is even, maybe even a little bit more time than that. So you have to be comfortable with that aspect of, I’m not quite sure how many games he’s gonna start for us as a rookie, but long-term thinking, really excited about what he’s gonna be for us.”

The Steelers haven’t bothered to hide their interest in Mims, bringing him into the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for a pre-draft visit, sending general manager Omar Khan, head coach Mike Tomlin and others to his pro day in Athens, Georgia, and holding a formal interview with him at the 2024 NFL Combine.

The Steelers have drafted three former Georgia Bulldogs in the last two drafts — wide receiver George Pickens, offensive tackle Broderick Jones and tight end Darnell Washington. Mims very well could be the next product out of Athens to come to the Steel City.