Momentum is mounting behind San Francisco 49ers making perfect selection in first round of 2024 NFL Draft
With the 2024 NFL Draft now only a matter of weeks away, more breadcrumbs are emerging as to which prospects teams might select in the first round. For the San Francisco 49ers, one name is beginning to stand out above the rest in a spate of recent mock drafts from well-connected reporters. Before free agency, […]
With the 2024 NFL Draft now only a matter of weeks away, more breadcrumbs are emerging as to which prospects teams might select in the first round. For the San Francisco 49ers, one name is beginning to stand out above the rest in a spate of recent mock drafts from well-connected reporters.
Before free agency, I labeled Georgia tackle Amarius Mims as the perfect first-round selection for the 49ers.
San Francisco did not address its problem at right tackle in free agency, meaning it stands as the Niners' clear biggest need ahead of a crucial draft in which they have 10 picks.
And there is an increasing amount of noise suggesting the 49ers are trending in the direction of targeting Mims with their first pick in the opening round since 2021.
Mims a popular choice
Mock drafts contain a lot of guesswork and are often far from being predictive of what will actually happen. However, several analysts use mocks as an exercise to detail what they are hearing, and that is what Bruce Feldman did for The Athletic.
In his mock draft based around what his sources are telling him, Feldman has the 49ers selecting Mims with the 31st overall. The Athletic's 49ers beat writer Matt Barrows has them making the same decision, while ESPN reporter Field Yates' mock draft features a San Francisco trade with the Dallas Cowboys, with the Niners moving up to 24 overall to select Mims.
The scenario Yates lays out is reflective of doubts that Mims will get to pick 31, with one of the riskiest prospects in the class also one with a tremendously high ceiling likely to be coveted by a host of different teams.
Mims' mouth-watering skill set
Standing over 6ft 7in with a massive 340-pound frame, arms that measured in the 95th percentile and hands in the 97th percentile, Mims possesses a mouth-watering blend of size and athletic ability that makes him an ideal fit for a 49er offensive that desperately needs an improvement in pass protection on the right side of the line.
The knock on Mims is that he made only eight starts for Georgia, but the tape from those eight starts was exceptional, with Mims consistently getting into his pass set extremely quickly and demonstrating smooth and controlled footwork to stay square with edge rushers while also using his arm length and tremendous power in his hands to shut them down in a hurry.
A prospect who shows composure in the pass game that belies his inexperience, Mims' power extends to the run game, in which he can displace defenders with little difficulty.
Mims has also shown intriguing promise in space for a man of his size, and his potential in this area was confirmed by his all too brief Combine workout, in which he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.07 seconds before pulling up hurt on his second run.
That Combination of power and athleticism hints at Mims being ideal for a 49ers rushing attack that blends zone and gap scheme runs and, though there is need for refinement as a blocker in space, he would have a tremendous mentor in that regard in future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams.
Mims would be a gamble, but for a 49ers team firmly in 'Super Bowl or bust' mode, it's one worth taking to give them a player who can be an immediate starter at right tackle and who has the upside to develop into a top-tier player at the position. There are increasing signs that an aggressive front office is ready to push its chips to the middle of the table again by betting on Mims' tremendous potential.
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It would set them up well for the future.
