The Pittsburgh Steelers added another Top 30 visit to their list this week. After meeting with a pair of offensive tackles in Taliese Fuaga and Travis Glover for pre-draft visits, Pittsburgh's brass hosted Georgia OT Amarius Mims for a Top 30 visit.
Mims is a player who has been frequently linked to the Steelers for a plethora of reasons. Pittsburgh has a big need at offensive tackle opposite Broderick Jones and Mims is projected to fall within their draft range at pick 20 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Steelers also value traits and athleticism early in the draft, and Mims has both. For these reasons, the polarizing Georgia prospect has been the second-most frequently mocked player to Pittsburgh in the first round of the draft, per NFL Mock Draft Database -- trailing only Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Now Mims could be primed to move into the number one spot as the most likely first-round candidate for the Steelers.
Amarius Mims is Steelers most likely first-round draft option
With his recent pre-draft visit, Amarius Mims becomes the first player to earn the 'trifecta' this year when it comes to pre-draft visits by Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After spending one of their 45 formal meetings on the Georgia OT at the 2024 NFL Combine, Tomlin and Khan met with Mims at his Pro Day. Now they complete the pre-draft process by making Mims a Top 30 in-house visit.
Amarius Mims is checking boxes to be the first-round pick of the Steelers:
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) March 27, 2024
✅️NFL Combine meeting
✅️Tomlin and Khan at Pro Day
✅️Top 30 pre-draft visit
This pre-draft 'trifecta' is exactly what we look for when predicting who will be the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round pick. This is a model that has proven effective in the past, and that could once again prove to be the case in 2024.
Last year, Broderick Jones was one of just three players who checked all three boxes when it comes to Pro Day meetings, Top 30 visits, and NFL Combine meetings. The other two players were Clemson DL Bryan Bresee and Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. The Steelers ended up drafting two of these three players with their first two picks.
The Steelers are going to fall in love with Mims traits. At 6'7 3/4'' and 340 pounds, Mims possesses impressive athletic traits to go with an unmatched frame and an 86 3/4'' wingspan. Pittsburgh tried to sign a similarly large OT last offseason when they made a push for Pro Bowler Orlando Brown Jr. (who ultimately chose the Bengals).
Essentially, Amarius Mims is starting to feel like the Broderick Jones of this draft for the Steelers. He checks all of the same boxes and is from the same excellent college football program.
Other candidates are sure to emerge who could contend with Mims to be Pittsburgh's selection with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Mims isn't guaranteed to be on the board. However, after earning three separate visits from Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan this offseason, history would tell us that Amarius Mims is extremely high on the Steelers' first-round radar. It's easy to see him being their top pick.