NFL Draft expert gives exceedingly high praise to Steelers top first-round prospect

Since the beginning of the pre-draft process, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had their eye on a Georgia offensive tackle, Amarius Mims. Many NFL Draft experts view Mims as a polarizing prospect with a low floor and a high ceiling -- making him arguably the biggest Round 1 gamble in 2024.

Mims has unmatched size length at the OT position, but injuries have hampered him. When he's ultimately selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Mims will have the fewest snaps on record of any player ever taken in Round 1 of the draft.

But not every draft expert believes that Mims is gamble.

Recently, Greg Cosell of The 33rd Team wrote a scouting report on the mammoth offensive tackle. Cosell detailed his strengths and weaknesses, but some of the words he used to describe Mims included 'mobility', 'power', and 'lateral movement'.

Here's Cosell's 'bottom line' on Amarius Mims:

"Mims must be coached and developed because he has some issues that need to be cleaned up. It is not likely he will be ready to start Week 1 in his rookie season, so expectations must be tempered. But if it all comes together physically, mentally and competitively, a team could have 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲."

- Greg Cosell, via The 33rd Team

The last statement is a big one. Cosell believes that Amarius Mims could be 'one of the better offensive tackles in the league for a long time.' This is a statement that will raise eyebrows.

Cosell is far from the only draft analyst high on Mims. Dane Brugler of The Athletic recently released his 2024 draft guide where he has a true first-round grade on Mims and slots him in as his 19th overall player in the NFL Draft this year.

Steelers should comfortable draft Amarius Mims at pick 20

I know the utter lack of college experience is a concern, but you simply don't see offensive tackles like Amarius Mims every day. The former five-star recruit dealt with injuries in college. Before that, he sat behind talented offensive tackles before being inserted into the lineup.

Health will be the biggest issue that could follow Mims throughout his career. Typically, the players who have a hard time staying healthy in college tend to always be dealing with some sort of injury at the next level. Mims has had several soft tissue injuries, so I can't say this isn't a concern.

But with injuries and all, the Pittsburgh Steelers should pounce at the opportunity to land an uber-talented player at a premium position with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Greg Cosell believes the sky is the limit to his upside, and this is a gamble Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin should be willing to take.