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Amarius Mims is a top candidate for NFL Protector of the Year award
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- Amarius Mims is a top candidate for NFL Protector of the Year award
For Cincinnati Bengals fans, few sights are more reassuring than Joe Burrow having time to throw. Amarius Mims is doing his part to make that happen, and his work is drawing national attention.
In his Quarter-Season NFL Awards Rankings , ESPN's Bill Barnwell placed Mims third in the race for NFL Protector of the Year, behind San Francisco tackle Trent Williams and Denver guard Quinn Meinerz. Barnwell described Mims as "arguably the best pass-protecting right tackle in the league."
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According to Barnwell's four-game assessment, Mims faced pass rushers one-on-one at the third-highest rate in the NFL. Despite that workload, he allowed only half a sack and two quick pressures across 169 pass-rush snaps.
Those numbers matter for an offense built around Burrow's ability to find the open receiver. As Barnwell explained, Burrow likes to have all five eligible receivers available in passing routes. When Cincinnati gives a tackle extra protection, that assistance generally goes to Orlando Brown Jr. on the left side, leaving Mims responsible for his assignment on the right.
Every time Mims handles that assignment himself, the Bengals have more freedom to use their tight ends and running backs as receiving options. It gives Burrow another place to go with the football and gives the defense another player to account for.
Mims also ranked 12th in run-block win rate in Barnwell's assessment, providing another encouraging measure of his early performance. But there is still a long way to go. A ranking based on four games is an early checkpoint, and sustaining that level through a full season is the next challenge.
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But this is the kind of development Cincinnati needs. An offense with Burrow at its center depends on blockers who can hold up when defenses know a pass is coming. And, at least through the first four games, Mims was doing exactly that. It's still early, but the Bengals already have a presence at right tackle who belongs in the conversation with the NFL's best.
