by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of 247Sports.
At Draft 412, the NFL draft talk never ends. We will keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars—from today and all the way until draft night 2024. We will bring you mock drafts, player profiles, individual team needs, and everything else you may need related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight - Georgia, Tackle, Amarius Mims
Name- Amarius Mims
Pos- Tackle
Team- Georgia
HT/WT- 6’7” 330 lbs.
Born- 10/14/2002
Home – Cochran, GA
Mims attended Bleckley County High School in Cochran, Georgia and became a 5 star recruit by his senior year. He was selected to the 2021 Under Armour All-American Bowl Game and was ranked as the #2 overall offensive tackle, and #1 prospect in Georgia by ESPN.
As a freshman, he saw his first action in a reserve role against UAB and went on to play 7 other contests, all in a reserve capacity.
Last season, he saw action as a reserve OT in 13 of 15 games, including starts in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Ohio State and the CFP National Championship game against TCU.
He entered the 2023 season as a Preseason Media Days All-SEC First Team.
Mims has the size and technical ability to be a starting left tackle in the NFL. He has strong hands and a comfortable wide base and uses his agility to protect the edge. He is a physical specimen with a mean demeanor and has the athleticism to effectively get to the second level. He is a weapon on screens out in the open and has excellent knee bend for the position. His length and size keeps defenders at bay and his high football IQ helps him understand zone blitzes and where the pressure will be coming from.
On the downside, Mims lunges and reaches at defenders instead of waiting for them to make a move, causing him to lose his base and become unbalanced. He is not a weak pass protector but is more comfortable in run blocking. He needs to work on his back pedal in pass protection and to become more fluid. He excels when defenders rush on his outside shoulder and the times he does get beat it is usually when a defender makes a move and cuts to his inside. This is a footwork issue that needs to be fixed before the next level.
A good comparison for Amarius Mims is Mekhi Becton, a former first round pick out of Louisville. Both have elite size and athletic ability but were a little raw in their pass blocking. Becton has improved in pass pro since being selected in 2020 by the New York Jets and Draft 412 sees no reason why Mims cannot do the same thing.
Strengths
Second level
Strong hands
Football IQ
Size/Athleticism
Weaknesses
Lunges
Footwork
Inside shoulder
Balance
Final Analysis
Mims has played himself into a first round selection with his size and play. Draft 412 sees him following in the footsteps of last year’s Georgia first round pick Broderick Jones, being selected somewhere in the middle of round one.
Draft 412 Draft Projection - Round 1