Amarius Mims to Bengals in NFL draft: Instant grade, analysis, stats for 18th pick
The Cincinnati Bengals continued their focus in recent to better protect quarterback Joe Burrow, taking Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The Bengals came into the draft looking to address the trenches, and when defensive tackle Byron Murphy II went to Seattle with the 16th pick, Cincinnati turned its focus to offensive tackle. It’s the first time since 2019 the Bengals used their top overall pick on an offensive lineman. Here's our instant draft grade of the pick and our rapid analysis of the pick.
What they're saying: How experts graded Bengals' pick of Amarius Mims in NFL draft
Reactions: Amarius Mims, Georgia offensive tackle, is Cincinnati draft pick at No. 18
Georgia OT Amarius Mims to Bengals NFL draft grade: Instant reaction
Grade: B-
Why: Cincinnati might have taken the best available offensive tackle in Mims. But ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. uttered the words Bengals fans didn’t want to hear after Cincinnati picked the 6-foot-8, 340-pound Georgia native:
“Developmental right tackle.”
The Bengals have done a terrible job at drafting and developing offensive linemen in the past decade. And Mims is far from a sure thing. Sure, he has the size and raw talent to potentially be an anchor on Cincinnati’s line for several seasons. Mims didn’t allow a sack in college.
He knows what it’s like to win, having played on two national championship teams at Georgia. The Bengals like drafting guys from winning programs.
But Bengals fans have grown skeptical of their team taking risks on players like this in the first round. Mims started only eight games in his three-year college career. He played in only seven games last season, when he battled an ankle injury. He left school early for the draft.
The Bengals deserve some credit. They didn’t take a wide receiver or other high-profile skill position player with their top draft pick, something they’ve done in years past to try to win the press conference. They are committed to trying to upgrade in the trenches, where they struggled on both sides the ball last season. Bengals fans still have nightmares about Burrow being sacked seven times in Super Bowl LVI, and him suffering a season-ending wrist injury after being hit in Baltimore last November.
Cincinnati has spent a lot of money the past three offseasons on four free-agent offensive linemen, partly a result of the franchise whiffing on linemen in the draft. It was time to address the line in the first-round again, with some of those free agents showing wear and tear of long NFL careers.
But the Bengals seem to be banking a lot on Mims’ potential, and that hurts this grade.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Grading Bengals pick of Amarius Mims at No. 18: NFL draft 2024
