For a while, Amarius Mims felt like the Steelers’ pick of destiny at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft. He checked all the boxes, particularly his position of offensive tackle. He had played his college ball with one of Pittsburgh’s starting tackles already, as well as others on the offense. It almost would have been too perfect, had it worked out that way.
And initially, that is what he expected. Geoff Hobson writes for the Bengals’ website that Amarius Mims “thought it was going to be” the Steelers to draft him in the first round. Instead, Cincinnati swooped in two picks ahead of them and selected him.
The thing is, the Steelers almost undoubtedly would have drafted Mims had the Bengals taken Pittsburgh’s actual first-round selection. They still went offensive tackle, but they went with Troy Fautanu. And while all indications are they really liked Mims, it seems they preferred Fautanu.
The 2024 NFL Draft was uncommonly strong for offensive tackles. That is the only way players like Mims and Fautanu fall to the Bengals and Steelers at 18 and 20. This year, Pittsburgh is hoping to have similar luck along the defensive line, as it is did back in 2011. At that time, they netted Cameron Heyward. Here’s to hoping we’re talking about Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant in a similar tone 14 years from now.
While the Bengals got 15 games out of Amarius Mims last season, though, the Steelers got justified one out of Troy Fautanu. Having already dealt with a knee injury, Fautanu dislocated his kneecap after his Week 2 debut. Mims also suffered an injury early, but managed to persevere.
Of course, the concern with him coming out of college was lack of experience. The Steelers just traded up in the first round the year before for Broderick Jones, though, so I don’t think they were too concerned about Mims’ lack of playing time.
On the other hand, all things being equal, experience is always preferable to inexperience. The Steelers, in theory, had the luxury of choice between Amarius Mims and Troy Fautanu when ranking their prospects. It seems they favored Fautanu and his extensive experience over Mims’ freakish upside.
In that sense, both the Steelers and Bengals got their guy, and we will see how the careers of Mims and Fautanu play out. It’s not the first time a chief rival drafted the same position in the same round, drawing obvious comparisons. The Steelers have won some of them, and lost some others.
The Steelers aren’t thinking about Amarius Mims now, though, except when they play the Bengals. They need to get Fautanu up and running after essentials missing his rookie season. They are counting on him being a plug-and-play stud at right tackle this year. At the same time, they are banking on Broderick Jones successfully moving to left tackle.
