{"id":81408,"date":"2020-02-29T05:19:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T10:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=81408"},"modified":"2021-03-11T22:11:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T03:11:09","slug":"denzel-mims-2020-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/02\/29\/denzel-mims-2020-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Denzel Mims 2020 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Position: <\/strong>Wide Receiver<br \/>\n<strong>Height<\/strong>: 6\u20193\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Weight:<\/strong> 206 pounds<br \/>\n<strong>School<\/strong>: Baylor Bears<\/p>\n<p><strong>Combine Performance Data<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>40-Yard Dash: <\/strong>4.38 seconds (tied for third-best among wide receivers)<strong><br \/>\nVertical jump: <\/strong>37 inches<strong><br \/>\nThree-cone drill:<\/strong> 6.66 seconds (best at 2019 Combine)<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Denzel Mims 2020 NFL Draft Profile<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Denzel Mims\u2019 path from overlooked recruit to one of the top receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft is nothing short of amazing. Considered a three-star prospect coming out of high school, Baylor and Texas Tech were the only teams in the Power 5 to show any interest. The Texas native ultimately chose Baylor and went on to become a dangerous weapon in the passing game for three seasons.<\/p>\n<p>After struggling to make an impact as a freshman, Mims exploded onto the national scene during his sophomore season. Coming out of seemingly nowhere, Mims ended the season with 61 receptions on 112 targets for 1,087 yards and eight touchdowns. The Baylor product took a minor step back as a Junior but still looked like one of the better receivers in the game. Mims ultimately ended his collegiate career on a high note, recording 66 receptions on 113 targets for 1,015 yards and 12 touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly enough, Mims might have never had the chance to play wide receiver if it weren\u2019t for a high school injury. The Texas native was a quarterback through his first three years of high school but transitioned to wide receiver and running back after suffering a shoulder injury while playing baseball. His athletic prowess didn\u2019t stop there, as he also played basketball and track at a high level during his high school days.<\/p>\n<h3>Strengths<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Makes some of the greatest catches you\u2019ll see from anyone in this draft class;<\/li>\n<li>Above-average contested catch specialist;<\/li>\n<li>Physical tools give him the potential to be a star at the next level;<\/li>\n<li>Can beat press coverage off the line of scrimmage;<\/li>\n<li>Hard to slow down in the open field;<\/li>\n<li>Tested well during the NFL Combine;<\/li>\n<li>Multiple years of high production at the collegiate level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Weaknesses<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Below-average route runner;<\/li>\n<li>Unreliable hands &#8211; 18 drops over the past two seasons;<\/li>\n<li>Ran a limited route tree in Baylor\u2019s offense;<\/li>\n<li>Struggles to consistently gain separation;<\/li>\n<li>Concentration drops over a multi-year span suggest this issue will follow him to the NFL;<\/li>\n<li>Unpolished receiver who will need time to develop;<\/li>\n<li>Strictly an outside receiver &#8211; only lines up in the slot on rare instances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>NFL Comparison<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HarrNK00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>N\u2019Keal Harry<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Teams With Need at Position<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/broncos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver Broncos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Green Bay Packers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/raiders\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Jets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/eagles\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Projection<\/strong>: Late second\/early third<\/p>\n<h3>Bottom Line on Denzel Mims<\/h3>\n<p>Denzel Mims is a freak athlete with a skillset that doesn\u2019t always translate to the NFL. At 6\u2019-3\u201d and 215 pounds, the Baylor product has the ideal size and athleticism for the position. He makes ridiculous catches and excels at overpowering defensive backs and winning at the point of attack. He\u2019s dangerous in the open field and isn\u2019t a one-year wonder.<\/p>\n<p>Having the ability to win contested catches is great, but it\u2019s hard for that skill to translate to the next level. Historically speaking, receivers that can separate and run routes at an above-average level in college tend to see more success at the NFL level. This is going to be an issue for Mims, as the NFL Draft hopeful had one of the least impressive route trees of any major draft prospect. Even though he makes some of the best catches you\u2019ll ever see, he also suffers from \u201cconcentration drops\u201d on what should be easy passes.<\/p>\n<p>Mims\u2019 athletic profile makes him worthy of a Day 2 pick, but he\u2019s anything but a finished product. If he\u2019s going to succeed in the NFL, he\u2019ll need some time to develop. He could be a solid red zone threat in the short-term, but nobody should expect Mims to be a Day 1 starter.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"7zPtiLKnSm9FOB-hfL1-Wg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1209327585\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'7zPtiLKnSm9FOB-hfL1-Wg',sig:'zi2GNAcmyI4iQcr7AUiHqbihPdmu_dlAjeFMbAidJn8=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1209327585',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a successful collegiate career at Baylor, wide receiver Denzel Mims hopes to take his talents to the next level during the 2020 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":81409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,54],"tags":[5273,6033],"class_list":["post-81408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-editorials","tag-2020-nfl-draft","tag-denzel-mims"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}