Will the Bengals draft Denzel Mims if he falls to the second round?
Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims has done a lot to boost his draft stock this offseason.
His dominant performance during Senior Bowl week caught the attention of the media and coaches around the league. Mims made contested catch after contested catch and showed explosiveness that is rare in a 6’3”, 207 pound wide receiver
“No player moved up the PFF draft board more at the Senior Bowl than Mims,” Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus wrote at the time. "In a loaded receiver group, Mims was quite clearly the most explosive. Showing he could maintain that explosiveness and separation on the full route tree was massive for him.”
Mims ran mostly vertical and fade routes at Baylor, which didn’t allow him to show off the rest of his game. His stock is rising because his skillset is much more developed and ready for the NFL game than some initially thought.
Mims’ dominance continued at the NFL Combine where he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, which was the fifth fastest time in Indianapolis. The explosion he put on display at the Senior Bowl and at Baylor was backed up by testing, which was important for his rising draft stock.
That leads to the question of the day: Should the Bengals pick Mims with the No. 33 pick if he’s available?
Wide receiver is a need for Cincinnati even though it won’t appear that way when you look at their depth chart. Only Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate are under contract beyond this season.
A.J. Green and John Ross have struggled to stay healthy. If Green and Ross were to avoid injury, the Bengals’ receiver corps would be among the most talented in the league, but that hasn’t been the case.
Mims has the size, speed and potential that should translate to the NFL right away. Pairing him with LSU quarterback Joe Burrow could be a lethal combination in 2020 and beyond. The coaching staff got to see him up close at the Senior Bowl, even though he was on the North team.
Bengals wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell coached Mims at Baylor in 2017. Mims had a breakout season that year, finishing with 61 receptions, 1,087 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged a career-high 17.8 yards-per-catch under Bicknell. This gives the team a huge edge in evaluating the rising prospect.
In a world where pro days aren’t happening and teams are holding virtual meetings with players, it’s important to have as much information on a riser like Mims, who finished his career at Baylor with 186 catches for 2,925 yards and 28 touchdowns.
The Bengals might not get the chance to select one of the drafts rising stars, but pairing him with Burrow would make one heck of a 1-2 punch.
"That's the great thing with the 33rd pick. You can sit back and take the best player, no matter what he is,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan told Bengals.com last month. “They're saying that six (wide receivers) could go in the first round. I think 12 to 15 can go in the first 50 picks. A lot of times you hear them say it's a deep receiver draft, but this one does have a lot of good ones."
The Bengals should be able to fill a need with the best player available at No. 33. Whether it’s Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun, USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson, Mims or one of the other candidates for that spot — they will likely address a need.
In a perfect world, the Bengals would be able to trade back, add another draft pick and still get their second round target.
Given the connection with Bucknell, his performance at the combine and the senior bowl, Mims has as good of a shot as anyone to be picked by the Bengals if he’s available in the second round.
