Assuming a monster trade for a wide receiver isn’t on the other side of the Pittsburgh Steelers releasing Denzel Mims, it’s a roster move that doesn’t come with much conversation. We’ll see how the team fills the open roster spot, likely with a free agent (perhaps a punter; they could use one of them to round out the roster), but it’s a back-end of the roster getting cut in June. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last.
But it’s worth taking a moment to talk about receivers like Mims. The guys out of college who look the part. Tall, can run, jump, and go up and get the football. The players who look like NBA forwards. Mims was that type. Coming out of Baylor, he measured in at 6027, 207 pounds, ran a 4.38, and jumped 38.5 inches. What’s not to like?
I’ll be the first to admit I was high on Mims’ game. He felt like the league’s next stud receiver. Just throw it up and let him make a play.
That’s the rub. The NFL doesn’t work that way. In college, especially in more wide-open systems like Baylor, players like Mims can win. But the NFL doesn’t allow players to get by with just physical tools alone. Above all else, receivers have to do two things.
1. Get open
2. Catch the ball
Maybe Denzel Mims could do the second part. But he struggled to do the first. Vertically, Mims was a threat. But he lacked the full route tree to consistently separate and make himself open for his quarterback. That’s why he struggled to gain traction with the New York Jets. Mims was a second round pick who caught just 42 passes across three seasons, and presumably why he didn’t last in Pittsburgh. It didn’t help that his college WR Coach, Frisman Jackson, was replaced this offseason, giving Mims one less guy in his corner to fight for his 90-man roster spot.
Obviously, this is not a critique of the Steelers picking up Mims. They didn’t draft him. They signed him to their practice squad and invested very little in him. He’s just a vessel to the broader draft philosophy.
Denzel Mims is far from the only case study. Last year, the Steelers brought in Hakeem Butler for a look. They didn’t draft him, but Butler’s career struggles follow the same arc. Big guy who has speed but can’t sink his hips and cut to get open (he also struggled to catch the ball cleanly). It’s why Butler can dominate spring leagues but struggle when the NFL comes calling. He’s football’s equivalent of a baseball AAAA player – caught between being too good for the minor leagues but not good enough for the majors.
Other high picks shared the struggle. Former first-rounders Laquon Treadwell and N’Keal Harry busted in Minnesota and New England for precisely that reason. And it’s why some college standouts fall in the draft. Florida State’s Johnny Wilson looked the part and dominated in college, averaging nearly 20 yards per catch over his last two seasons, but fell for a lack of a position and route-running ability.
Perhaps it’s why Pittsburgh has had a good track record with receivers. Generally, they’ve stayed away from taking that mold of player. They’ve won by drafting the prospects knocked for their size: Antonio Brown, Santonio Holmes, Emmanuel Sanders because they were impressive route runners who could get open. The best receiver is an open one.
They’ve had their exceptions. George Pickens felt like that mold of player coming out of Georgia. But his route running has improved, and his vertical ability is so elite that it mitigates the rawness in his game. When Pittsburgh missed, it often was because they drafted a basketball player like Sammie Coates or Limas Sweed. I’m talking a bit broadly here, but that’s one point (of many) to consider why the Steelers have been so darn successful.
It’s a lot of words on an offseason roster release, I know. But Denzel Mims’ release got me thinking about the position, the big picture. And one of the personal draft lessons I’ve learned over the years. Be careful falling in love with those good-looking big receivers. They’ll burn you.
