Jeremiah: Amarius Mims Could Fall to Second Round

The Steelers haven’t bothered to hide their interest in Georgia offensive tackle Amarius 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. But 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 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.'”

An interview of Mims discussing the possibility of being reunited with Jones, Washington and Pickens was unearthed from the Georgia pro day on March 13.

“It would mean a lot,” Mims said on the possibility of playing with former Georgia teammates in Pittsburgh. “Just reuniting with the Georgia guys again. Guys like Darnell, of course, Broderick and George. We got a bond and it would be great spending however much time I can possible with them, however long I would be there. So that definitely would be nice.”

Georgia tackle Amarius Mims on potentially playing with Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington again in Pittsburgh.

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Mims did not work out at the pro day due to a hamstring injury that he suffered at the NFL Combine. He is set to workout privately in front of several NFL scouts and evaluators on April 10.

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.

But he has significant questions about his experience level and injury history. 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.

Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who picked Mims to go No. 18 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals in his latest mock draft for ESPN, acknowledged the risk in taking a player like Mims.

“I like him,” Tannenbaum said in a conference call last week. “A big, talented guy. I do worry that he didn’t play a lot there. Now, there were a lot of good players in front of him. So, I still have him in the first round because his movement for his size is just rare. It’s not ideal when you’re talking about some of these other guys who have played for at least three years. It is a little bit of a risk.”

The Steelers have an affinity for younger players in the draft, and they took Jones as a junior out of Georgia last year, but the lack of college playing time makes Mims a tough evaluation.

His current NFL Mock Draft Database average is No. 23, so while there are scenarios, like Tannenbaum’s in which the big Bulldog will be off the board, the Steelers will more likely than not have their chance at Mims — if they want him.