Former Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle Amarius Mims has been drawing substantial buzz for his performances in training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, Mims could be a Week 1 starter for the Bengals.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do for sure, but Amarius is doing a really good job, man,” said Bengals starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. “I think he’s going to be a really good pro. The way I would describe it is, there’s guys that are raw, and then there’s guys that are just inexperienced. And he’s just inexperienced, you know, in my opinion.”
One of Mims’ top flaws entering the draft was his lack of starting experience and injury history. If Mims can stay healthy, he could have a better pro career than his college career.
“He went to Georgia, he practiced against great talent, he played in the SEC, played in those big games,” continued Brown Jr. “I just don’t think he played in many of them. But he’s good, man, I think he’s going to be a good pro.”
Mims is hard to miss on the Bengals’ practice field. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound offensive tackle has always stepped up when healthy. He has the potential to be a difference-maker right away for Cincinnati.
The Bengals drafted Mims with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Mims is competing to start at right tackle with NFL veteran Trent Brown, who missed the start of training camp with an injury but is healthy now.
“First-round rookie Amarius Mims has a legitimate chance to win the starting right tackle job,” said ESPN’s Dan Graziano (subscription required). “Veteran Trent Brown has missed the early part of camp recovering from injury, so Mims has been getting the first-team reps and winning over coaches and teammates.”
The Bengals are looking to protect star quarterback Joe Burrow, so they will start whoever can do a better job of that at right tackle.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Mims signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $15.37 million contract with a $7.99 million signing bonus. The Bengals have a team option for a fifth year.