The Cincinnati Bengals exited the 2024 NFL draft with a rather universally praised class of players across 10 selections.
It isn’t often, though, that the Bengals end up proclaimed as the outright winners of Round 1 as a whole.
That makes a new “best pick in every round” effort from Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema rather notable.
There, Amarius Mims gets listed as the best pick of that opening round:
Mims is a fantastic athlete for his size but struggled with injuries at Georgia. Regardless, he allowed just six quarterback pressures across 402 career pass-blocking snaps and should start very soon, as Trent Brown is only a short-term solution for the team at right tackle.
Consdering the wealth of values and fits found by all teams across the critical opening round, it’s notable to see the Bengals picked as the best.
Still, the analysis rings true — if the lack of reps with Mims red flag doesn’t turn out to be a big deal, he gets to learn from Trent Brown and Orlando Brown Jr. — similarly sized players with different styles.
On paper, this could help him emerge as one of the best Round 1 picks outright when looking back on the class in a few years, too.
The best pick in every round from the NFL Draft, per @TampaBayTre pic.twitter.com/aq4ctfqHOG
— PFF (@PFF) May 6, 2024
