Amarius Mims is back in town for Monday's opening of the Bengals' offseason workouts, and they can only hope their first pick in next week's NFL Draft pans out as well as their massive right tackle.
Still, after his breakout second year has put him on the threshold of elite tackles as he enters his third season, Mims has to offer a reminder.
"I have not scratched the surface of what I want to be," Mims says. "I'm still learning. I'm 23 years old, man. I don't have all the answers.
"I appreciate people trying to put me in that category … The more I get stuck on trying to be in the elite, I feel like it clogs my brain, and I have to be somebody I'm not. I'm just taking baby steps and trying to get better every game."
Mims won't turn 24 until Thursday night's first-round pick plays in his sixth or seventh game for the Bengals later this year. That tells you how high the ceiling is.
"I've got big plans for myself. I want to be a focal point of this offense. Both run and pass, and I know I've got a lot to do," Mims says. "My goal is to be an elite tackle and I'm nowhere I want to be. I'm using this offseason to basically prepare for going into year three and making some big strides."
Mims played all 17 games last year, the most football he's played since the Bleckley County High School days in Cochran, Ga. His 6-6, 340-pound athleticism and cathedral ceiling made him the 18th pick in the 2024 draft, rather than his brief resume at Georgia. The ceiling grew even higher after last year's Pro Football Focus rankings had only five tackles with at least Mims' 694 chances and a better pass-blocking efficiency than his 97.0 grade.
His game is as unique as his outlook.
"I never want to be like somebody else," Mims says. "But there is always the part of someone's game that you would love to have in your repertoire."
That's why Mims prides himself on being an incessant taper watcher. "I watch every elite tackle I can." And it doesn't matter the era. Mims was exactly six years old when Bengals Ring of Honor right tackle Willie Anderson retired.
But Mims wants to emulate how Anderson used independent hands to keep his balance against Hall-of-Fame pass rushers. He fast forwards to the man who this season became the first right tackle since Anderson to be named to three straight first-team All-Pro teams, and would like to copy what Detroit's Penei Sewell does in space.
He met Sewell for the first time this offseason at the wedding of Lions guard Tate Ratledge, his old Georgia teammate.
"Great guy," Mims says. "It makes you realize how he's one of the guys you're trying to get there with as one of the elites."
Also on Mims' screen is Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil, Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, and Bucs right-left tackle Tristan Wirfs.
"I'll probably never be able to move like Laremy Tunsil," Mim says. "But if you just watch his pass sets, they're the same, and he's amazing. He takes the same square set. I know he's got years on me, but if I can just move like that and get to that spot as well as he does, that's a thing of beauty about him. And Lane Johnson. They're some of the greatest sets I've seen.
"I don't want to model my game after somebody, but there's always stuff that I see."
The three vets he plays with have the biggest influence on him. It's a daily lesson from left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., center Ted Karras and, next to him, right guard Dalton Risner.
Mims covets Brown's consistency. His first NFL start, in Carolina early in his rookie year when he was 21, still lingers with him.
"I had my own problems going against Jadeveon Clowney," Mims says. "When I sat down and watched the game with Orlando, his dude didn't get close to the quarterback. He was just stopping this dude before he could even think about the move he was doing. Punching him in the chest, it was crazy."
During Mims' rookie year, he continued his old-school two-handed clamps. Brown, a graduate of the Willie Anderson Hand Schools, had impressed Mims so much that he approached him last year about the method. It meshed well with new offensive line coach Scott Peters' strike system.
"If you watch (Brown) punch, he shocks people," Mims says. "He told me, 'Dude, I just get to my spot. I try to bring the fight to him."
Which is exactly what sounds like Mims' plan for 2026.
"Just working on honing and tweaking my skills. The little things," Mims says. "One thing at a time."
Screen Play
When they head to the weight room Monday, the players catch their first glimpse of a $1 million screen play.
Mounted on the wall in the middle of Paycor Stadium's multi-purpose room is a massive 16-feet-by-nine feet screen that serves all kinds of purposes.
It's basically Paycor's biggest computer. Bengals senior director of technology Jake Kiser, who led the installation during the offseason, says it will quickly become an invaluable tool for players and coaches.
Overlooking a short turf field with yard markers, the screen is wider than the hash marks. That allows for walkthroughs where all 11 members of the offense or defense can mirror the upcoming foes' alignments and plays flashing on the screen from cutups used in the classroom and on laptops.
The screen also aids the strength and conditioning staff with a unifying tool that puts all workout groups on the same page. For instance, it allows assistant strength and conditioning coach Garrett Swanson to post, edit, and store that day's workout plan, along with being able to devise a leaderboard of various events.
"A player can do a vertical leap, and he can then look up and automatically see where he stands on the team," Kiser says. "They key thing is the efficiency for everybody."
