Latest NFL Draft rumors would make the Bengals' most recent first-round pick even more important than he already is
First-round picks are supposed to be solutions for problems in the present and the future, with an emphasis on the latter. Amarius Mims is an ideal example. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Mims with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft just a handful of weeks after the Bengals signed Trent Brown with the intent […]
First-round picks are supposed to be solutions for problems in the present and the future, with an emphasis on the latter. Amarius Mims is an ideal example.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Mims with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft just a handful of weeks after the Bengals signed Trent Brown with the intent of starting him at right tackle. Brown's deal was only for one season, so a long-term answer would be needed behind him eventually. Mims became that answer, and was called upon much sooner than anticipated when Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3.
Mims did start for most of 2024 and gained valuable experience, but his presence was needed to keep the dominant pass-rushers around the AFC North at bay like T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Word on the street is Garrett won't be the only force off the edge the Bengals will have to stop, which would make Mims all the more important for years to come.
Browns rumored to be targeting Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter
Cleveland has just two quarterbacks on its roster in Deshaun Watson and Kenny Pickett. Neither one is expected to be the actual answer for the 2025 season and beyond. Despite this, it would seem that the Browns are likely to draft whom many consider to be the best overall player in this year's draft, Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter, with the second overall pick.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said as much this past week.
“I would handicap Abdul Carter right now as the likely pick at No. 2 today,” Schefter said Wednesday. “We reserve the right to change our mind, a lot of things change. The way this is shaking out to me, it looks like he is tracking to be a Brown. Let’s see how it plays out.”
ESPN Browns reporter Jake Trotter corroborated this report later in the week.
"What I'm hearing, Abdul Carter is the pick," Trotter said Friday. "I don't care if you have a quarterback or not, you ain't going anywhere next year anyway."
Trotter may be correct in both his reporting and his editorial assessment of Cleveland's roster to the dismay of some Browns fans, but Carter would make Cincinnati's in-state rival much harder to play against. Garrett became the first non-QB to sign a contract worth $40 million per year because he's the best overall edge defender in the game. He's already a handful on his own. Giving him an explosive running mate on the other side of the formation would make it difficult to block both.
For two games a year, the Bengals would have to keep both away from Joe Burrow in very important divisional matchups. Having just one high-end offensive tackle wouldn't be enough.
Mims already in the fold with Orlando Brown Jr. locking down left tackle gives the Bengals a pre-baked solution before the problem even becomes a reality.
As Schefter mentions, things could change. Carter could end up going first overall to the Tennessee Titans, or the Browns could take their top QB available and go forth with him under center.
But if the likely scenario pans out and Carter joins the AFC North, the Bengals will be counting on Mims even more than they already were.
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