The Cincinnati Bengals drafting Amarius Mims alleviated any potential internal debate about which tackle to draft. Many connected Mims, the college teammate of Steelers T Broderick Jones, to Pittsburgh, but now they’ll see him in Cincinnati. They themselves got Troy Fautanu, whom it seems they personally rated higher, so time will tell who was right.
While the Steelers are taking their time easing Fautanu into things, the Bengals like what they see in the early goings for Mims. Mims is in no position to start ahead of veteran Trent Brown, anyway. New offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher brushed off the pre-draft concerns many had about him.
“Positive, good energy, coachable. None of the red flags that would suggest to you that he’s not going to have the success that his physical skill set indicates he should have”, Pitcher said of Mims, via the Bengals’ website. “A rookie with a ton of development ahead of him. A lot has been thrown at him, and he’s responded well. Really like the person. I think we added a quality human to our organization along with a guy who’s going to develop into a heck of a football player”.
A 6-8, 340-pound behemoth out of Georgia, Amarius Mims only played 803 snaps at the collegiate level. Injuries played a part in his limited playing time—he played in just seven games last year—but he is one of those players about whom you say he “has all the talent in the world”.
And that’s why so many people thought the Steelers might draft Mims. Perhaps they would have if the Bengals drafted Fautanu instead, but we’ll never know now, nor have to know. The only question is how Mims and Fautanu fare for their respective organizations. Mims is very inexperienced and very large, while Fautanu is very experienced and slightly smaller than average.
While Mims is facing a redshirt year learning behind Brown and Orlando Brown Jr., though, the Steelers want Fautanu starting. They don’t have to rush it, however, as they have their starting tackles from last season. Broderick Jones can play either left or right tackle, and would remain on the right if Fautanu isn’t ready.
Whether by happenstance or design, the Steelers’ 2024 NFL Draft class prioritized experience. Mims obviously fell outside of that pattern, but the Steelers of the past did prefer youth in their top picks. Perhaps because they now desire immediate contributions more, they have preferred more experience as often as not—Jones notwithstanding.
Because the Bengals drafted Mims before they had a chance, this isn’t even a question of whether the Steelers will live to regret the move. They were very happy to select Fautanu and seemingly would have chosen him over Mims if both were available. But they didn’t get the opportunity to choose thanks to the Bengals.
And it may be a while before either the Steelers or the Bengals learn who Amarius Mims truly is. They’ll see his development in practice, but I’m not sure how soon he might play, let alone crack the lineup.
