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Official: Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Declares for NFL Draft

The Sooners No. 1 wideout says he'll take his talents to the next level after another productive year in Norman.
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Official: Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Declares for NFL Draft
Official: Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Declares for NFL Draft

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Oklahoma Sooners

One of Oklahoma’s biggest offensive weapons is off to the next level.

Sooners No. 1 wide receiver Marvin Mims has officially declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Matt Miller, citing unnamed sources, first broke the news on Twitter.

Mims soon posted his own tweet, confirming his intentions to jump to the NFL.

Mims thanked the OU team for "Turin into me and pushing me every day to be the best person I can be on and off the field" and the fans "for making a 17-year-old boy's dreams come true! The endless support and love will never be taken for grated. Y'all made me realize what being a Sooner truly means."

The Frisco, TX native just wrapped up his third season in Norman and was once again highly-productive for Oklahoma leading the team in receiving yards in all three of his OU campaigns.

This season, Mims set career-highs in receptions (54) and yards (1,083) while also adding on six touchdowns as the top target for quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

His play was good enough to earn him a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the league’s coaches and a second-team all-conference nod by the Associated Press.

On Dec. 19, Mims explained why the NFL had such a strong appeal to him.

"It’s a pretty big dream," Mims said. "I grew up a Saints fan. All of my family’s from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So huge Saints fans. I kind of converted to a Cowboys fan in middle school. It’s just a dream, just to be able to play on the brightest stage where the best players play. It’s a huge thing and to be able to have this decision, it’s a huge blessing in my life."

Mims finishes his career, in just three seasons, ranked No. 8 in program history in receiving yards with 2,398, and put up some of the most exciting moments by an OU receiver in school history, including a toe-tapping, shoelace-defying catch just inside the pylon on a long ball from Caleb Williams against Texas in 2021. He said that was his favorite moment as an OU receiver.

"Of course, I’m going to go with Texas in 2021," Mims said. That’s a very special one. Oregon, just the whole (Alamo) bowl experience was pretty special just because of what we went through then. There’s just so much. I don’t really know which ones to really choose." 

According to Pro Football Focus, Mims' offensive grade this year was 77.5, which ranked fourth on the team behind Eric Gray (90.6), Dillon Gabriel (87.0) and Wanya Morris (76.6).

Mims set numerous record at Lone Star High School in Frisco, including the national record for single season receiving yards (2,483) and the Texas state record for career receiving yards (5,485).

With Mims off to the next level, the heir apparent to the No. 1 receiver role appears to be Jalil Farooq with the Sooners still having a bevy of receiving talent behind him headlined by Drake Stoops and rising youngsters in Jayden Gibson and Nic Anderson. 

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