The Cincinnati Bengals got their guy: Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle Amarius Mims.
Mims entered the 2024 NFL draft with questions surrounding his durability and limited starting experience. However, the Bengals aren’t worried about Mims’ flaws. Instead, they love his upside and potential. Cincinnati drafted Mims with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Cincinnati’s director of college scouting, Trey Brown, noted the Bengals love to check out Georgia football.
“We circle it on our calendar whenever we go there because we know we’re going to see some high-end talent. And then (Mims) would show up every time,” said Brown. “Anytime you get a guy coming out of that program with how they train, how they develop players, it puts you at ease going to guys coming out of that system. There were a lot of great defensive players Amarius was able to go against.”
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor called Mims to inform him the Bengals planned to draft him. Mims was left speechless for a moment during his draft call.
***EXCITED NOISES*** Amarius Mims receives THE CALL from Coach.@IEL_LLC | 📺: 2024 Draft on ESPN/ABC/NFLN pic.twitter.com/om2niUxopf
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 26, 2024
Draft calls are one of our favorite parts of the draft. Players, such as Mims, finally experience their NFL dreams becoming a reality after years of hard work and dedication.
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart echoed the Bengals’ sentiment when it comes to Mims. Mims showed up in practice at Georgia despite limited starting experience.
“What does that matter if you’ve blocked Travon Walker, Nolan Smith, Robert Beal your whole career. What does eight starts matter? Would you rather have someone who started 27 games and played against nobody, or somebody who played against first-round draft picks every day in practice? I know which one I’m picking,” Smart said.
