Trade Proposal Lands Steelers ‘Most Fascinating Player’ in 2024 Draft Class

Getty The Athletic's Dane Brugler proposed the Pittsburgh Steelers trade up to draft Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims.

Thanks to a 3-game winning streak to end the 2023 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers probably won’t have an opportunity to select one of the top prospects in the upcoming draft class. However, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler predicted the team to land a player in the first round with plenty of intrigue — Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims.

In his mock draft on March 5, Brugler proposed the Steelers trading up from No. 20 to draft Mims at No. 16 overall.

“Déjà vu here with the Steelers trading up in Round 1 for a Georgia offensive tackle. (Pittsburgh moved from No. 17 to No. 14 to select Broderick Jones last year),” wrote Brugler.

“At 6-8, 340, Mims is the most fascinating player in the draft, because of his special traits. The body of work (eight starts) might not be there, but if he had a deeper resume, a team like the Steelers wouldn’t have a shot to get him this late.”

In the hypothetical trade, Brugler proposed the Steelers trade their first-round pick along with the No. 84 overall selection to the Seattle Seahawks. In return, the Steelers would receive the No. 151 overall pick along with the 16th selection in the first round.

Georgia OT Amarius Mims Displays Special Traits at NFL Combine

If scouts formed an offensive tackle prospect in a lab to perform at the NFL combine, he may look something like Mims.

The Georgia tackle measured at 6-foot-8 and 340 pounds with 36-inch arms during the combine. At that weight, he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.07 seconds with a 1.78 10-yard split.

Teams searching for special traits in a future offensive tackle need to look no further than Mims.

“Talented tackle prospect carrying a picturesque frame and exciting NFL traits,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote. “Mims has more development to go, but he’s a Day 1 prospect with the traits and talent to be considered at either tackle position.

“He has a high ceiling, but questions due to his lack of experience could temper early expectations.”

Sometimes, players performances at the combine don’t match “the tape” they produce in college. However, in Mims’ case, he didn’t have a lot of college “tape.”

At Georgia, Mims started just eight games. He didn’t become a full-time starter with the Bulldogs until this past fall, and he missed part of the season because of injury.

Steelers to Reunite Mims With Tackle Broderick Jones?

Besides potentially landing the “most fascinating player” in the class, the idea of the Steelers trading up for Mims is intriguing for a couple other reasons. First, they did the exact same thing last year, moving up from No. 17 to 14 to draft Broderick Jones.

On top of that, Jones and Mims were college teammates. In fact, both started for Georgia during the 2022-23 College Football Playoffs.

Zierlein predicted Mims could play at either left or right tackle. At Georgia, Jones played left tackle while Mims lined up at right tackle. Jones, though, started during the second half of his rookie NFL season at right tackle.

However, Steelers general manager Omar Khan made it clear the team still views Jones as its future at left tackle.

“Versatility on the offensive line is important. [Jones] proved that he could play right tackle. But he was drafted to be a left tackle and eventually he will be a left tackle,” Khan told reporters at the NFL combine on February 29. “When that is, you know, time will tell, but he was drafted to be a left tackle.”

Therefore, it would be surprising if the Steelers target another left tackle in the 2024 draft. But right tackle prospects are certainly a possibility.

For Jones, it’s hard to envision a better one than his former national champion teammate.