One of the prospects in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been most linked to is Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims, and Mims appeared on NFL Total Access tonight to talk about his journey to the draft. One of the biggest knocks against Mims has been his relative lack of experience, as he’s started just eight games in his collegiate career and played a total of 801 snaps during his career. During his appearance on NFL Total Access, he talked about his lack of snaps during his career.
“I was fortunate to play at a great O-Line room my freshman, sophomore year. Had some strong battles with guys like Warren McLendon, Broderick Jones, Jamaree [Saylor]. So I got some playing time freshman year, wasn’t significant time, but sophomore year was kind of hard, I was in a three tackle rotation where I was with two other good tackles. We all, we were battling every day just for all three of us to get 30-40 reps a game. It is what it is, starts are the starts. But I feel like even with that eight career starts, I don’t think it’s a big deal in my opinion.”
His sophomore year is when he started for an injured McClendon in the College Football Playoff, and Mims has talked about his experience playing with Jones and how Jones helped mentor him during their time at Georgia. If they were to team up in the NFL, the Steelers would likely use Mims at right tackle while moving Jones back to left tackle just as they played when they were at Georgia together. McLendon is now with the Los Angeles Rams, so it’s not as if Mims was playing behind guys who weren’t very good. Both players he was behind during his sophomore season are now NFL tackles, and Jamaree Saylor is also with the Los Angeles Chargers, who Mims was behind as a freshman.
If the Steelers do draft Mims, they’re gambling on his upside and traits, which Greg Cosell called the best in the draft. While he could eventually be an upgrade over Dan Moore Jr., he likely would need some seasoning due to his lack of collegiate game experience. The Steelers were cautious with Jones, who had more experience with Mims, not inserting him into the starting lineup until Week Nine, and they would likely follow a similar trajectory with Mims.
For Pittsburgh, it’ll be a question if the upside is worth the selection at No. 20, even if Mims might not be an upgrade as soon as Week One. With other needs also to address, it’ll be interesting to see how Pittsburgh views their need at tackle and if they think Mims might be worthy of a first-round selection.
