Throughout the pre-draft process, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been heavily connected to a handful of potential first-round picks, such as Duke’s Graham Barton, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, and more.
Two players that have been talked about arguably the most for the Steelers have been Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims and LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. Both would fill major positions of need for the Steelers on the roster as currently constructed, but it turns out the Steelers might not get a shot at either one of them.
According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, both Mims and Thomas Jr. are “risers” in the draft class and won’t be available to the Steelers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday in Detroit.
“Two risers for you: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr. and Georgia OT Amarius Mims – they won’t be around very long come Thursday. Teams love these dudes,” Schultz wrote on Twitter Tuesday regarding Mims and Thomas Jr.
Mims is a player that has been tied to the Steelers since the start of the pre-draft process.
Though he started just eight games at Georgia and played in just over 800 career snaps, the tape is very good overall from the 6076, 340-pound right tackle. Pittsburgh had a formal interview with him at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, then attended his Georgia Pro Day and later hosted him in Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit.
Adding a player like Mims would allow the Steelers to flip second-year lineman Broderick Jones back to his more natural left tackle position. This would strengthen the Steelers’ offensive line at the tackle position with two high-ceiling Georgia bookends. The Steelers aren’t the only team that seems to like him, though, as the Bengals, Saints, Jets, and others have shown interest.
However, there is a report that Mims could fall out of the first round because he’s such an unknown.
As for Thomas, the Steelers had a formal meeting with him at the Combine, assistant GM Andy Weidl attended the LSU Pro Day and had new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni get a close look at him at the Combine, putting him through position drills.
After trading away Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this offseason, the Steelers have yet to successfully fill the receiver position, and Thomas Jr. profiles as a strong fit opposite George Pickens. He’s been mocked to the Steelers quite a few times at No. 20 overall in this draft.
Schultz categorized both as risers, which isn’t surprising. Both are relatively raw at the positions and have some great tape. There are some projections there, but the height/weight/speed package with Thomas Jr. and the size/strength/athleticism package with Mims are tantalizing for teams, packages that make teams take shots at players in the draft.
