The Pittsburgh Steelers have been frequently linked to Georgia OT Amarius Mims as a potential target for the team’s selection at No. 20 overall in the first round. We now know that five teams had offensive line coaches at his individual Pro Day workout. That comes from Albert Breer in his latest NFL takeaways article.
“Mims, who drew offensive line coaches from five teams (in addition to all of the scouts), showed to be fluid at his size with a lot of power. And though he had moments showing how raw he is (hand placement, etc.), he accepted the coaching he got during the workout,” Breer wrote.
While we don’t know if the Steelers were one of the five teams, offensive line coach Pat Meyer did attend Pro Days at Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington to check out top offensive line prospects, including Taliese Fuaga, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Troy Fautanu. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Meyer were in attendance to see Mims workout, especially after a report in March from Tony Pauline said that the Steelers had a “ton of interest” in the former Georgia Bulldog. Either way, it shows there’s some interest in Mims from teams throughout the league, and teams are doing their homework on him as a prospect.
Mims didn’t do any testing at his individual workout, but he did position drills, as Breer said, and said he accepted the teaching he received. Mims is a raw prospect who only started eight games in his collegiate career, and after how cautious the Steelers were with Broderick Jones last season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Mims started the season as a backup if he did end up in Pittsburgh.
But the fact he was receptive to coaching is a good sign, and it shows that Meyer could work with him to teach him the technique the Pittsburgh offensive line uses and mold him into an NFL-caliber offensive tackle. If the Steelers do select Mims, the plan would likely be for him to be the long-term solution at right tackle while they move Broderick Jones, another former Georgia player whom Mims has spoken highly of, back to his natural left tackle position.
Some risks come with taking Mims, especially his lack of experience and just how raw he is, which comes hand-in-hand with his lack of experience. But NFL film expert Greg Cosell lauded his traits and called them the best of any offensive tackle in the draft, and it might be worth the gamble for the Steelers as they look to build up their offensive line and have two long-term answers at offensive tackle in Jones and Mims.
