After a historic 14 offensive players came off the board to start the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals remained at No. 18 and selected Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims.
Mims, 6’8″ and 340 pounds, looked like one of the top right tackle prospects in the draft and is an obvious fit for a team that lost Jonah Williams to free agency.
With only Trent Brown as the starter on the right side going into next season, Mims arrives as immediate backup help and a possible long-term starter on that edge.
With Mims at 6’8″ and 340 pounds, Brown at 6’8″ and 355 pounds and Orlando Brown at 6’8″ and 345 pounds, the Bengals certainly aren’t shy about the framework they like in edge prospects.
The Bengals entered Thursday night’s opening round with big needs along the offensive and defensive lines, though all levels of the defense and weapons for Joe Burrow weren’t out of the question.
By the time they got to the podium, besides Byron Murphy, most of the draft’s premier defensive players and a handful of offensive linemen remained.