Cincy Jungle
In an exclusive sit-down with The Orange and Black Insider, the big Bengals tackle talked about his mentorship of Amarius Mims, as well as his longstanding rivalry with the Chiefs.
Since 2021, the Cincinnati Bengals have largely preferred to rely on short-term deals with veteran right tackles. Riley Reiff and La’el Collins manned the position during their deep 2021-22 postseason runs (though they were on injured reserve during those streaks), with their former first-round pick taking over that side in 2023 with the arrival of Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency.
This past season, it was decorated veteran Trent Williams who was called upon for the starting role. Cincinnati invested a first-round pick in the talented Amarius Mims, but Williams was the seasoned presence the Bengals wanted while their rookie got acclimated to the NFL.
On a recent episode of The Orange and Black Insider, we were privileged to welcome Williams to the program. In our 25-minute chat before Super Bowl LIX, we touched on a number of subjects in an exclusive and entertaining sit-down.
One of the topics we discussed with the gigantic tackle was his taking Amarius Mims under his wing this past season. While Brown’s mentorship was cut short, in a sense, due to his unfortunate injury, he still played a role in the rookie’s development.
“I really didn’t look at it as a competition,” Brown told us. “I looked at it as me being an older veteran, and he’s a young guy. I’m in year 10. He’s a rookie. So, I was just trying to bestow upon him all of the wisdom I have to give, try to tell him some things, try to give him some tips here and there. And, it might allow him to play a little bit faster, maybe it’ll help him pick up some things faster, see things faster and allow him to play faster.”
When the Bengals drafted Mims, it was understood that there was a bit of a project to be undertaken, as his college sample size was small. However, Cincinnati banked on his immense size and athleticism, and it ended up paying off early for the team. Mims finished with a 60.8 PFF pass-blocking grade, which is a respectable number for a rookie tackle—particularly in the AFC North.
“For one, he’s from South Georgia, two he played in the SEC, so that gives him a pretty good head start, I think,” Brown said of Mims’ abilities and early NFL performance. “Me being a guy that they tried to say, ‘Hey, he didn’t have much experience coming out of Florida’...I only had, like, 12 starts or whatever...if you look at that 2015 draft class, I’m like one one of three tackles left, if that, still playing. So, the cream rose to the top there.”
“I did think that he (Mims) had all the tools and attributes to be able to play at a high level in this league, and he showed that, and, on top of that, I think...
