You’ve heard all the talk about taking Baylor wide receivers in the first round.
Denzel Mims is here to prove things have changed.
One of the top pass-catchers in the 2020 NFL draft class, Mims recently spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about breaking the stigma of Baylor receivers, why he’s always had a chip on his shoulder, and what kind of player he’ll be at the next level.
JM: You had an excellent week at the Senior Bowl back in January. Why did you accept the invite? Did you feel like you had something to prove?
DM: I most definitely felt like I had something to prove. That’s the reason I went out there. I just really wanted to show everybody that I’m one of the best players in the country. I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder. I knew that some people were doubting me. I still have doubters today. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t think that I’m a good wide receiver. They mention that I went to Baylor and Baylor wide receivers never pan out at the next level. I just wanted to go out there and show that I’m cut from a different cloth. Things are different at Baylor now. I’m one of the best players in the country, and I believe I’ve proved that throughout this process.
JM: You definitely rose to the challenge there, and have been proving yourself throughout the draft process.
DM: I’ve been underrated my entire life. They underrated me in high school as well. It was the same thing all throughout college. I’ve really just grown as a player. I have this huge chip on my shoulder.
JM: The NFL Scouting Combine came next, and your stock continued to go up in Indianapolis. What was that experience like?
DM: It was an amazing experience. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed meeting new people and experiencing new things. That was my first time in the state of Indiana. It was amazing. The combine can definitely be a little exhausting but it was an amazing overall experience.
JM: You ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, which is an outstanding time at your size. You also had a 38.5-inch vertical, and posted a time of 6.66 in the 3-cone drill. What do you feel is the overall impression that you left out there?
DM: I showed that I’m fast and that I’m explosive. I showed that I can get in and out of breaks within short distances. I believe that my talents were on full display. I’m a lot faster and more explosive than people give me credit for. I proved that I can do it all really. I’m a bigger receiver that moves just as well, if not better than some of the smaller receivers.
JM: Do you feel like some of your testing results caught some people off guard?
DM: I definitely think that I surprised a lot of people. Right before I ran the 40-yard dash, I actually looked over at the people at the table, the people with the stopwatches and what not, and I told them that they were about to record the fastest time of the day (laughs). I went out there and ran it. That’s exactly what I did.
JM: Did you have a lot of formal or informal interviews there?
DM: I had a little bit of both. It was mostly informals, though. I took care of most of my formals at the Senior Bowl.
JM: How do you describe the way that you play the wide receiver position? What are you trying to achieve on a snap-by-snap basis?
DM: I’m really just trying to be a great teammate on every snap. Whatever that means to my coach and to my teammates, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m going out there to do what I was coached to do. I’m doing what I need to do. My assignment is my goal. I wanna go out there and block for my teammates. If my number gets called, I’m gonna make a play on the ball.
JM: Do you attack a smaller cornerback differently than you may a bigger one that can match your size and physicality?
DM: I really attack every cornerback the same way. The way I attack remains consistent. Their size doesn’t change anything for me. You may have a smaller corner that’s more physical than the bigger ones. You just never know. Sometimes those smaller guys are actually stronger than some of the big ones. You have to attack every corner with the same mentality. You should never underestimate a guy because he’s on the smaller side. He’ll surprise you.
JM: I love that. Were you able to get any private visits or workouts in before the COVID-19 outbreak shut everything down?
DM: Most of my private visits and workouts were canceled due to the spread of the virus. We’ve had to resort to holding pre-draft meetings over FaceTime and what not. I was able to work out privately for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals before everything else got canceled, though.
JM: Which teams have you met with over the phone?
DM: Yeah, I’ve been holding every meeting since then over FaceTime. Since the COVID-19 outbreak has gotten out of hand, we’ve moved to the phones. I’ve met with the Titans, Bears, Colts and Bills over the phone.
JM: What was the strangest question you were asked at the combine?
DM: I actually wasn’t asked any strange questions. I guess that’s a good thing. I’m a well-behaved guy. I really don’t do much. I keep to myself for the most part.
JM: Earlier you talked about going to the Senior Bowl to prove that not all Baylor receivers are built the same. You say that things have changed. The program has seen some first-round disappointments at the position, such as Kendall Wright and Corey Coleman. How do you respond to some of that unfounded criticism?
DM: I try not to pay any attention to that. I’ll be honest, it gets under my skin sometimes. Because of some of the receivers that have come through here, they don’t pay as much attention to the new age of Baylor receivers.
I hate when somebody judges me based off what another man did or didn’t do many years ago. We’re in a whole different system now. We have an entirely different coaching staff. We have or had coaches on the staff with NFL experience. Coach [Matt] Rhule is now a head coach in the NFL. He pretty much changed what went on around here. He did everything in his power to change the way people view Baylor prospects.
Coach Rhule did a great job running this offense. We pretty much ran a pro-style offense. We ran the same concepts and route trees they ran at LSU, Oklahoma and Alabama. Those programs didn’t ask more of their receivers than Baylor asked of us. People that think those programs ran more of a pro-style offense than we did are greatly mistaken. We ran the same routes as those guys. We had the same concepts. We had the same amount of weight on our shoulders. If you look at the film, you would see that the concepts are the same. We did the same things they did.
I don’t like or appreciate how they paint a picture for us without any knowledge of what actually went on here. They’re still judging the Baylor of the past. That wasn’t the 2019 version of Baylor. There’s nothing that we couldn’t do. We have multiple receivers that are gonna make it to the league and change the perception around here.
JM: Who are some of the best defensive backs you’ve ever gone up against?
DM: The best cornerback I ever went up against actually played in my conference. That would be Jeff Gladney from TCU. Jeff Gladney is a top-two cornerback in this draft class. I honestly think he’s actually the best corner in this class period. That’s my opinion. I played against some amazing competition in the Big 12. They talk about the Big 12 like we don’t have any real competition, but that’s not true. When you play in the Big 12, you’re prepared to play against the best competition on a weekly basis.
I think Jeff Gladney was one of the best players in college football. He’s tough, he’s physical. He has that dog mentality. He’s a little on the shorter side, but he’s a long guy. He has those long arms. He’s very aggressive. He’s just a great overall player. Of course he can run. You already knew that. He’s the best corner, in my opinion.
JM: You’ve been complimenting Matt Rhule and the Baylor coaching staff quite a bit. You really feel like they helped change the program and the culture. What’s the biggest lesson any of those coaches ever taught you?
DM: They taught me to stay aggressive and to never take no for an answer. I’ve never accepted that there’s something I can’t do. That’s never been a thought in my mind. If there’s something I can’t do or that I’m not very good at, I worked at it every single day. I worked and worked some more until I could do it.
As soon as that staff arrived in Baylor, they showed us how to be pro’s. They wanted us to be pro’s despite us being collegiate athletes. They showed us how to get ready for the next level. We were very professional. We knew what to expect. That staff treated us like men. They made sure that we were respectful both on and off the field. They made sure we were always on time. We were five minutes early in most cases.
We worked hard and we put in extra work. We watched extra film. We acted like we were under contract. We aren’t amateurs. We’re professionals getting ready to be professional at the next level.
The staff did a great job. We’re prepared for what’s next. I know for sure that I’m prepared. I’m confident that everybody at Baylor is gonna go on to be successful. I worked hard every year. That staff changed me. They helped me grow as a player and as a person.
JM: IWhen a team drafts Denzel Mims, what kind of guy are they getting?
DM: They’re getting a respectful, hard-working young man, first and foremost. I’m just a guy that loves football at the end of the day. They’re getting a guy that’s gonna help his team win more games than they won the year before.
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