Over the past several seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Achilles Heel would almost certainly be considered the offensive line. In the first four seasons with elite quarterback Joe Burrow, the superstar LSU product only managed to finish two of them after he was sidelined in 2020 and 2023 with season-ending injuries. Since the obvious issue of protection was first inflicted on this organization’s biggest investment, rebuilding the offensive line has been one of the biggest projects this team has attempted.
Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Lineman Continues Gradual Progression
Luckily for Cincinnati, this front unit for the Bengals looks like it may finally be good enough to keep Burrow healthy for a full season. Last season, this unit greatly improved, but the missing piece was right tackle after former first-round pick Jonah Williams continued to flounder in pass protection. After letting Williams walk in free agency, this team decided to use a two-pronged attack in bargain free agent acquisition Trent Brown and first-round draft pick Amarius MIms.
After a relatively uneventful position battle in training camp, the team decided that Brown would start the season. While the veteran may have been the favorite choice, he certainly didn’t last long as the mediocre play of Brown ended after a meniscus tear ended his season in week 3 against the Washington Commanders. Since then, Mims has been relied upon as the starter at the right tackle position.
Since Week 3, Mims has shown steady improvement week-over-week up to his best performance of the season on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants. Granted, this was probably the offensive line’s worst game of the whole season but little of that was to blame on Mims. On two separate plays, Mims made a mistake and allowed pressures on Burrow from talented second-year pass rusher Azeez Ojulari. That being said, on 35 pass blocks, Mims only gave up two pressures, giving him his highest pass block efficiency of the season at 97.1%.
In his fourth game as a full-time starter, Mims put in an average Pro Football Focus score of 64.9. While that may be spectacular for the talented man out of Georgia, it is leaps and bounds better than the mediocre score of 47.7 he earned in Week 3 against Washington. In those four weeks, Mims’ score has improved by approximately 6 points per game, and given that the New York Giants have one of the most talented defensive lines in the NFL, that is certainly a feat worth commending.
Amarius Mims gets a big hand from Dan Pitcher & Derrick Frazier postgame.
A grind for the rookie on SNF ends with a W pic.twitter.com/QCckcxgg8Z
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) October 14, 2024
While the interior of the offensive line has struggled, Mims has anchored himself on the right side of the offensive line for years to come. Next week, he will face another challenging test when Cincinnati takes on former All-Pro Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns.
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