Cincinnati Bengals Rookie Tackle Amarius Mims Trying His Best To Make People Hate Him

Jay Morrison | Dec 16, 2024

Oct 6, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Amarius Mims (71) during warmups before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – The Mega Millions jackpot is up to $740 million for tonight’s drawing, and Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher might want to consider plopping down a few bucks.

That’s based on his conversation with reporters Monday afternoon, when he wondered if rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims already had more NFL snaps under his belt than he had in college.

WLWT’s Charlie Clifford looked it up while Pitcher was echoing the praise head coach Zac Taylor had directed at Mims a few minutes later.

Mims had 803 snaps in college and 802 in the NFL.

The bulk of those 802 snaps in stripes have been positive in the eyes of Taylor and Pitcher.

“You don't notice him during games,” Taylor said. “He's playing really good football over there. You can feel that during the game.

“I told him coming off the field against Dallas that he doesn't understand the wave of rushers he's had to face this year,” Taylor continued. “It's tops in the league in terms of who he's had to go against, and he's done a great job. It doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement over his time. He's just a rookie. But he's been really consistent, and there's a lot to like there and it hasn't been too big for him that's for sure.”

Pro Football Focus has Mims ranked in the bottom tier of the league – 50th of 61 tackles with at least 300 true pass sets – but the improvement Taylor mentioned has been evident in the PFF grading.

Mims receiving his second-highest pass blocking grade of the season in Sunday’s 37-27 victory against the Tennessee Titans with a 74.4.

That was slightly below the 74.9 he received three weeks ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I would say Amarius has been very consistent, especially lately,” Pitcher said. “It’s easy to maybe lose track of Amarius. He goes much of the game unnoticed in a good way.”

A 6-foot-8, 350 pound human going unnoticed is a feat.

Next up for Mims will be Round 2 with Cleveland’s Myles Garrett — the reigning Defensive Player of the Year — on Sunday.

In Cincinnati’s 21-14 road win in Week 7, Mims allowed just one pressure for a 98.2 percent efficiency grade from PFF. That was his second highest of the season before scoring a perfect 100 percent Sunday against the Titans.

What rookie wall?

“I'm just trying to play the best football I can play for the remainder of the three weeks I know we have,” Mims said. “Just try to make the most of the opportunity that I get every day. Just trying to get better in practice every day and play as mistake-free as possible. Just trying to play fast and more confident. That will come with reps.”

 As good as Mims has been physically, Taylor was quick to point out the mental aspect of his game and how impressive that has been.

“It's physical conditioning and mental conditioning to just get yourself ready, because every play can be the one that matters the most, especially when you're playing all the guys we face – Garrett, T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby, everybody.

“We throw the ball a lot, so if you let your guard down for one snap and allow got to get around an edge and sack fumble, and they pick it up and go, that can be the difference in the game,” Taylor continued. “So from a mental standpoint, just locking in on every single play, making sure you're doing your job, it's as important as the physical part.”

The Cincinnati scouts were pounding the table for the team to draft Mims with the No. 18 pick last spring.

His physical tools were obvious.

But Mims’ mental prowess was more of a wildcard because it’s always the tougher part to scout, but especially when a guys has as little tape as Mims had at Georgia.

“It's impossible to know,” Taylor said. “Our scouts really liked him and what he was about because they had the best assessment. They got to go to practice. They got to see who he practiced against. We had seven games of footage to go against, which was good stuff, but that's probably the least amount of information you ever have on a prospect, especially when you're placing a first round pick on.

“So yes, as coaches, we certainly liked him, but I would tell you our scouts were the ones that stood on the table for him and said, ‘Hey, I know you guys don't get a chance to see all the stuff we see, but I'm telling you, this guy's made of the right stuff, and he's going to be a great pick for us.”

Pitcher also pointed to the mental part of playing the position as a highlight of Mims development.

“Things like more than just the one-on-one protection matchups,” Pitcher said. “It’s ‘OK, how am I playing in tandem with my guard? How are we passing off twists?’ All the different pressure front structures we see on third down and ‘What are the different rules I have to be ready for every week?’

“It’s stuff that is more than pass set, block the guy across from me,” he added. “We are almost all the way through his first NFL season, and he has really adapted well to all that stuff.”

Mims said being a good teammate is one of the most important things to him.

And so is being a heel of an opponent.

“Me and (offensive line coach Frank Pollack) talk about it all the time, just make people hate you, make people not want to line up against you,” Mims said. “Make them want to go to the other side. I'm just trying to build that in my game, whether that's pass pro or run game.”

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