Amarius Mims named best pick of 1st Round by PFF

[CJD]

When I look at the first round, there really isn't a pick where you say, "Oh my God, that guy was selected WAY later than anticipated!" Rome Odunze didn't fall to 17, nor did Bowers fall to 21 etc. Most players went approximately where you anticipated them going and, generally, to the teams you were anticipating they'd go to.

The closest example to a major steal in the first round was Quinyon Mitchell, but he was from a small school and you never know with prospects like that. The Eagles were looking at CB2 and CB3, but ended up getting CB1, and that's great. But it's clear the focuses of the first round were the QBs, WRs and OL, so it makes sense that some defensive players would fall a bit.

For that reason, I think it makes sense that the OL with the highest ceiling in the entire draft going in the teens would be seen as a major steal. With how fast those guys were going off the board, I was genuinely scared that we'd be looking at Fautanu (who many question if he can stick at OT) or Guyton (who is all athleticism, little production) at 18. Luckily, the surge ended at 15 and we were still able to get our guy.

Mims doesn't have the highest floor in the class, but I think too many people are putting him in Guyton territory; that is, "athletic freak who is raw and needs to be coached up." Mims is an athletic freak, but he is well coached and is not particularly raw. He's just inexperienced. He got plenty of time working against that Georgia defense in practice and performed great against 2 of the best teams in the country in the playoffs as a Sophomore and continued through an SEC schedule as a Junior.

If he played a full season as a junior, he's probably going #7 to Tennessee. And that's the only risk; the injuries. If he continues to be injured every year in the NFL, he'll obviously not turn out to be everything we hope him to be, but if he can stay relatively healthy, I think he has All pro RT potential and his floor, if healthy, is probably still a solid tackle. No player is bust proof, but I don't see Mims as a prospect with an elevated risk of busting.