CINCINNATI – There aren’t many people who could make one of the biggest prospects in the NFL Draft feel like a little kid, but Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is one of them.
Shortly after the Bengals drafted offensive tackle Amarius Mims with the No. 18 pick, the 6’7″, 340-pound behemoth couldn’t hide his excitement about getting the chance to block for — and talk to — Burrow.
“Just watching Joe Burrow at LSU, I was like ‘Oh, my god. I would love to block for him one day,'” Mims said. “Now that I have a chance to, it’s a blessing. I just look forward to getting in and talking with him. It feels like I’m a little kid almost, just getting around somebody you look up to.”
Bengals Draft Georgia Tackle Amarius Mims in First Round
Mims said he never tried to rank the possibilities of where he would end up, but he knew his visit to Cincinnati went well and thought there was a chance he could land with the Bengals.
While much of the details of that visit remain a blur, there was one thing head coach Zac Taylor said that resonated with him.
“I remember sitting with coach Taylor, and he was on the (white) board, and he was like ‘We want O-linemen that are winners,'” Mims recalled. “And I remember him rattling off every O-lineman, like every O-lineman they got, they all won in some kind of form in college or the NFL.”
***EXCITED NOISES*** Amarius Mims receives THE CALL from Coach.@IEL_LLC | 📺: 2024 Draft on ESPN/ABC/NFLN pic.twitter.com/om2niUxopf
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 26, 2024
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and right tackle Trent Brown have Super Bowl rings. So do center Ted Karras and right guard Alex Cappa. Left guard Cordell Volson won two national titles at North Dakota State. And backup tackle Jackson Carman won a national title at Clemson.
Mims won two titles at Georgia, but he was only a starter for the second one.
His first career start came in the College Football Playoff semifinal win against Ohio State.
“I said, ‘If I can do good in this game right here,’ especially the level of competition that Ohio State had, I just knew that game right there could boost my confidence and boost my game,” Mims said. “Ever since that day, I’ve just tried to put my best foot forward and just keep attacking each game after that.”
That was his first start of just eight in his college career. The inexperience was something that obviously didn’t bother the Bengals, who made Mims the fifth tackle taken in the draft with the intent of building his experience and easing him into a starting role by letting him play behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Trent Brown for a season.
“I can get behind those guys and learn from them, Orlando and Trent, as much as possible,” he said. “It’s just wild, man, just watching both of those guys in college and now in the league. Getting to be in the same room with them is a blessing.”
From Brown and Brown to Burrow, Mims is excited for the chance to play with some of his idols and give Taylor and the Bengals exactly what they were looking for — a winner.
“Taylor said, ‘Dude, if we’re lucky enough to get you, we’re gonna come get you,'” Mims said. “I’m glad they came to get me.”
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