New York Giants Draft Prospect Profile: WR Marvin Mims Jr

Nick takes a look at another receiver prospect that could be there in Day 2.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 16, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

Oklahoma Sooners

Marvin Mims Jr., WR

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 183 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: Oklahoma
Age: 21 (03/19/2002)

Combine Measurements

Arm length: 31 ⅝”
Wingspan: 74 ¾”
Hand size: 9”
40-yard-dash: 4.38
10-yard-split: 1.55
Vertical jump: 39 ½”
Broad jump: 10’9”
3-Cone: 6.90

A former four-star recruit out of Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, where he was the 29th wide receiver prospect and the 26th Texan in the 2020 recruiting cycle. Started his high school career at Legacy Christian Academy, where he was a wide receiver and a cornerback.

Had over 5,400 receiving yards and 60-plus touchdowns in high school. He is close childhood friends with Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, where they both enjoyed playing football together growing up. His first love was basketball.

Notables

Marvin Mims Jr. originally committed to Stanford but decided to attend Oklahoma, where - in three seasons - he ranked third in school history with 18 receptions of at least 40 yards or more. He led the Sooners in receiving yards in his three seasons in Norman. He started two seasons for the Sooners and never had less than 600 yards in a season. [STATS]

Mims Jr. created vertical separation, allowing him to average 19.5 yards per catch throughout his career. He was a solid kick and punt returner, used all over Oklahoma’s formation, including in the backfield. Mims Jr. was a Freshman All-American in 2020, was Honorable Mention All-Big-12 in 2021, and was First Team All-Big-12 in 2022, where he led the conference in receiving.

Mims Jr. skipped Oklahoma’s bowl game and attended the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Many teams, including the New York Giants, are hosting Mims Jr. for Top-30 visits. He is a realistic day-two target for the Giants.

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Strengths

Excellent smooth athlete with quick feet and great acceleration
A young vertical threat with very good hand-eye coordination to pluck balls out of the air
A build-up speed player who does a solid job working into the blind spots of defenders attempting to disallow Mims Jr. from stepping on their toes
Solid shiftiness when exploding off the LOS to shake cornerbacks
Athletic ability to create separation on both the vertical and horizontal plane
Good change of direction and agility allow him to be dangerous in YAC opportunities
Solid ability to pluck away from frame - good overall catching ability
Hauled in 34 of 66 deep career targets - excellent tracking and concentration
Has circus catch playmaking ability
Had a few impressive wins and toe-taps along the sideline that would make Nate Burleson blush
Crazy body control and mid-air-adjustment to the football against Oklahoma State (Q3, 13:15, 3rd & 15) - very good command and coordination of his body when he’s not physically challenged
Significantly hamstrung by Oklahoma’s offense and quarterback play

Plays left on the field - would have had more stats in a better situation

Florida State: Q1, 10:11 2nd & 8
TCU: Q1, 6:37 4th & 4; Q2 5:58 3rd & 9
West Virginia: Q1, 4:22, 2nd & 10
Texas Tech: Q1, 14:09, 2nd & 3
Iowa State: Q3, 11:40, 1st & 10

Special teams' return upside, averaged 11.8 yards per return on punts
Big time competitor - try hard blocker
Did display levels of frustration on the field due to inept offense - cares! This could be perceived as a negative, but nothing I’ve read has suggested anything of the sort about Mims Jr.

Weaknesses

Like many receivers in the draft, he has a thin frame with a lean lower-half
Sub 32” arms - limited catch radius
More of a build-up speed player than a 0-100 one - but does possess solid initial explosiveness
Ran a limited route tree at Oklahoma (gos, hitches, some deep overs, designed touches)
Isn’t the precise route runner of other WRs in this draft class
Will need to prove that he can beat press on the LOS
Not physical up his route stem - can get redirected if CBs land hands
Play strength leaves some to be desired
Won’t run through many tacklers - doesn’t pick up YAC through physicality
There were plays on tape where I wish he came down with contested catches down the field - some of this can be attributed to his lack of strength
Can pluck away from his frame but is much more comfortable letting the ball into his body - did have wildly frustrating drops on his tape
Play strength issues do cap his blocking ability
A lot of designed touches at Oklahoma

Summary

Marvin Mims Jr. is a deep threat with excellent build-up speed who maintains his excellent acceleration as he is locating the football. He combines elite concentration as a deep threat with an above-average ability to make players miss in space once he has the football. Marvin Mims Jr’s., skill set meshes perfectly with an NFL predicated on creating explosive plays down the field. He possesses good overall hands, but frustrating drops are within his profile; plus, he’s more comfortable letting the ball into his frame rather than extending to pluck (if he can get away with it).

In 2021, Mims Jr. aligned in the slot 75% of the time, and that dropped to 30.1% in 2022. I enjoyed the more diverse usage and alignment during his junior season, where Oklahoma designed touches for their talented wideout. Florida State and Texas Tech pressed Mims more often than other teams, and he averaged 38.5 and 32.4 yards per reception in those two games, respectively. Still, he only had seven collective catches; two were blown coverages by Texas Tech. Mims Jr. won some reps against FSU but was also driven out of bounds in press coverage on a few plays.

His overall play strength could improve, and he could struggle to defeat press early on at the next level. His floor is starting as an above-average returner on special teams and a rotational wide-receiving deep threat who can thrive operating out of the slot. His ceiling, though, is high, and he could be an early field-stretching contributor that could start outside if he develops. The Giants brought Mims Jr. in for a Top-30 visit; he could be an option for Big Blue in the second or third round if they forgo selecting a receiver at pick No.25.

GRADE: 6.25