Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals’ starting offensive tackles, Jonah Williams and Orlando Brown Jr., allowed a total of 15 sacks and 100 total pressures. Per Pro Football Focus, Brown gave up seven sacks and 59 pressures on the left side, and Williams gave up eight sacks and 41 pressures on the right. Brown is still the team’s starting left tackle, and in place of Williams (who signed a two-year, $30 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals), Cincinnati brought in veteran right tackle Trent Brown on a one-year stopgap contract.
Over time, the idea is to plug Georgia tackle Amarius Mims into the line, but when will that actually happen? The Bengals selected Mims with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 draft, and that was far more on potential than production to this point. Mims played just 803 snaps over three seasons for the Bulldogs, and he will need time and patience before he’s ready to deal with NFL pass-rushers.
Of course, the Bengals are just fine with that, because when you have a guy standing 6′ 7¾” and weighing 340 pounds with athletic traits like this, it’s easy to fixate on what could be.
That’s all well and good, but Mims is a first-round pick, and the Bengals have a serious need to upgrade at both tackle positions. So, when can they open up this box of potential and put Mims on the field in a credible sense?
The attributes are as tantalizing as the points of development are clear.
Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
PLUSES
— Pure "Planet Theory" human being whose spider chart looks like science fiction; there just aren't many people this big who can move like he does.
— Can move just about anybody in a straight line against their will.
— Shockingly agile on… pic.twitter.com/NxJee4rtGJ
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 4, 2024
“His traits are immeasurable if you’ve ever seen him walk through a door,” head coach Zac Taylor said after the pick was made. “Again, there’s a lot there to work with that we’re really excited about. We’ve had a lot of exposures to him face-to-face. We got a chance to interact with him in a lot of different ways and felt really good.
“Those are absolutely things we went back and watched and studied, the previous year’s tape, because that’s really where he got his first introduction to college football against really good opponents and good matchups for him. Again, I just think that what we’ve done at the tackle position allows us to take Amarius and get him ready to play, and so I’m excited about the addition there.”
So, there’s clearly some time involved. Both Orlando Brown and Trent Brown are big, physical players with great length, and that’s Cincinnati’s type. Mims has all that, and when he’s on, he’s pretty special.
Amarius Mims is very much a work in progress. But when he's aligned in pass pro, the size shows up, and it's just hard to develop a pass-rush plan against him. @Bengals pic.twitter.com/15JabAEYHa
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 6, 2024
On the other hand, Mims’ need for the specific elements of the position at the highest possible level show up more than you would like.
Where Amarius Mims needs development is in the nuances of the position — how to pick up games and counters, and how to extend blocks without leaning and getting out of phase. You can see why the Bengals took the upside risk, but this will require patience. pic.twitter.com/7RoqzHH4aH
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 6, 2024
“Honestly, I feel like I play pretty physical and I play patient,” Mims said of his game. “In a game, you don’t want to get too anxious and try to overdo anything. Especially as an O-lineman and as a tackle too, because I feel like you have pound-for-pound the best athlete on the field. So in my opinion, you’ve got to be aggressive, and then sometimes you’ve got to be patient just because you’ve got to know the guy you’re playing against. I feel like those two things describe my game.”
The physical part is already there. The patient part will be important for both players and team. If Amarius Mims can put it together over time, the Bengals could have something truly special.
