Steelers First Round Target Amarius Mims Might be Team’s OT Solution
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been repeatedly linked to Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but there are some concerns about the big lineman.
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.
But his pro day on April 10th, where Mims will test and go through positional drills, after suffering a hamstring at the Combine could be the cherry on top for the Steelers. It is likely that they will send personnel to that pro day to see how Mims will do in an all-around setting.
The 6-foot-7 3/4, 340-pound Mims certainly has the size and athleticism to do the job, showcasing the latter with a 5.07-second 40-yard dash at the combine, an impressive time for this 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.
Ultimately, Mims is flushed with tools that you cannot teach at the position. He’s already a reliable pass protector and if he improves his consistency in the run game, he has a chance to be an impact player in the trenches. He’s not the most refined player at the moment but classifying him as raw would be a disservice. Unfortunately, without a crystal ball, there’s no surefire way of knowing that Mims will be durable enough to reach his high ceiling.
All good and bad outcomes are on the table for the former five-star prospect. Some team could take a swing inside the top ten, or he could fall to the late-first-round range. Neither would be overly surprising. His talent is undeniable, and given the positional value at hand, the Steelers would be wise to do as much homework as possible on Mims. He figures to be a heavily discussed and somewhat polarizing prospect throughout this cycle.
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