NFL.com mocks combine star to Cowboys despite 40-yard dash injury

The Cowboys went into the NFL scouting combine expected to be looking seriously at offensive linemen who might be worthy of their first-round draft pick for the second time in three years. But news over the weekend that current left tackle Tyron Smith may be allowed to leave in free agency certainly increased the urgency for the team to have a solid plan along the O-line for the coming season.

Hitting a home run with a Day One starter to join the Cowboys’ front five may have just become an absolute imperative for Dallas.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein thinks one of the combine’s breakout stars may be just the answer, matching Georgia junior Amarius Mims with the Cowboys in his post-combine mock draft. Mims put on a show during an abbreviated performance in Indianapolis and- despite an early exit that may cause some concern- only reinforced what several other mocks have also suggested: that the mammoth two-time national champion would be an outstanding fit for the Cowboys, who may suddenly be looking at an O-line in flux in 2024.

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Zierlein's latest mock

Zierlein loved what he saw of Mims in Indianapolis, enough to send him to the Cowboys with the 24th overall pick in this, his second mock draft of the offseason.

“Mims is a mountain of a man with elite traits and an enormous ceiling of potential,” Zierlein writes. “He’s never played left tackle, so he’d likely plug in at right tackle, with Tyler Smith bouncing out to the left tackle role in Dallas.”

The Georgia Bulldog was the seventh offensive tackle to come off the boards in this exercise, in what is considered a very deep draft for O-line prospects.

Here’s how Zierlein has those first-round tackles distributed:

• No. 6: New York Giants – JC Latham, Alabama

• No. 7: Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt, Notre Dame

• No. 10: New York Jets – Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State

• No. 14: New Orleans Saints – Troy Fautanu, Washington

• No. 16: Seattle Seahawks – Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn State

• No. 23: Los Angeles Rams – Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma

• No. 24: Dallas Cowboys – Amarius Mims, Georgia

Zierlein mocked Mims to Pittsburgh with the 20th pick in his first mock draft just after the Super Bowl; he had Dallas selecting Fautanu.

Mims' combine numbers

The 21-year-old showed out at this year’s scouting combine. His staggering 5.07-second time in the 40-yard dash wowed scouts and placed him in the 85th percentile for offensive tackles, per PFF. A broad jump of 9 feet, 3 inches put him in the 87th percentile for that test.

His height and weight both measured 95th percentile or better for his position.

Hamstring injury, shuttle confusion

Mims’s already stellar performance at the combine bordered on mythical status for a short time on Sunday when it was reported that he had turned in a short shuttle time of 4.33 seconds, the best time for an offensive tackle in 25 years and the same time as Bengals running back Joe Mixon.

That time, though, was wrongly attributed to Mims, it was learned later. Mims actually didn’t run the shuttle at all, having pulled a hamstring during his second 40 attempt. The injury was considered minor, but it nevertheless kept him out of positional drills.

Jordan Reid of ESPN reports that Mims plans to rehab the injury and be ready for the University of Georgia’s pro day on March 13. Mims previously suffered multiple ankle injuries in 2024, one of which required tightrope surgery and forced him to miss six contests.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire