Amarius Mims isn’t wasting any time measuring up to his hype in the NFL.
The Cincinnati Bengals rookie has been taking first-team reps at right tackle with free agent Trent Brown missing all but mandatory minicamp, per ESPN reports.
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Mims, the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft first round and the fifth offensive lineman to be picked in the first round during the Kirby Smart era, has impressed.
“Consistently doing it over training camp and blocking people and being able to react very quickly,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor told reporter Ben Baby.
“That’s the part that I’m excited [about] -- to see how he handles all that.”
Mims is still projected to be a backup in this, his first season in the league, largely because of his game day inexperience.
The 6-foot-8, 340-pound Mims played in 29 games over the course of his three seasons in Athens, but he only started eight.
Mims was limited to six starts last season after suffering an ankle injury the third game of last season against South Carolina, resulting in tightrope surgery.
Mims missed the next six games before returning to start against Ole Miss, but he said he reinjured the ankle about 12 plays into the SEC Championship Game and then was sidelined for the Orange Bowl.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart scoffed at the notion that Mims’ limited number of starts should affect his NFL draft status.
“What does that matter if you’ve blocked Travon Walker, Nolan Smith, Robert Beal your whole career,” Smart said, noting how challenging the UGA practice are with the offensive and defensive starters often going against each other.
“What does eight starts matter? Would you rather have someone who started 27 games and played against nobody, or somebody who played against first-round draft picks every day in practice? I know which one I’m picking.”
The Bengals obviously agreed.
