CINCINNATI – The combination of Sam Hubbard’s minor knee injury and the first practice in pads offered a prolonged look at the Cincinnati Bengals’ two most recent first-round picks going head-to-head.
Defensive end Myles Murphy, whom the Bengals selected with the No. 31 pick in 2023, and offensive tackle Amarius Mims, the No. 18 pick in April, squared off twice in a 1-on-1 drill before lining up across from one another for most of the 11-on-11 periods.
And it wasn’t a case of having to wait to watch the film to declare a winner.
Amarius Mims Takes Day 1 in Battle Against Myles Murphy
Mims held firm against Murphy on nearly every rep before the defensive end had to pull himself out of the drill late in the practice due to cramping.
“He’s definitely a very strong, very athletic guy. Not too many people are built like him,” Murphy said of the 6’8″, 350-pound Mims.
“Gifted for sure,” he added. “He’s a guy you have to scheme against. You’ve got to learn how to rush against him and come up with a good rush plan.”
Here's your reminder that @amarius_mims is a BIG man pic.twitter.com/NYk2gwi40d
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals)
Murphy said his plan always has been to use his bull rush on the first rep in 1-on-1s on the first day in pads every ear.
“I always try to establish power,” Murphy said.
That was one of the reps where Murphy came out on top, as judged by Mims.
Asked about how well he fared Tuesday, and really through the first week of practice, Mims wasn’t interested in a victory lap.
“Sam’s got around me a couple of times; today Myles bull-rushed me. I’ve done had my fair share of losses,” Mims said. “But I ain’t had not crazy beatdowns.
“When I say ‘losses,’ if I don’t good enough to my expectations, I count that as a loss,” he added.
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Mims said the first day of pads wasn’t a big day for him because the offensive linemen are still “bumpin’ and bangin’” even before the pads come on.
But the number of reps he got against Murphy, knowing that it was the team’s No. 1 pick against the other No. 1 pick, certainly registered.
“Oh, yeah. For sure,” he said. “I gotta push him, and he’s gotta push me.”
Murphy and Mims grew up in Atlanta and have been aware of each other since their high school days. In 2021 when Clemson faced Georgia in the season opener, Murphy was a starter for the Tigers, but Mims had yet to crack the lineup for the Bulldogs.
They’ve had plenty of reps against each other through the first six days of training camp, and there is a lot more to come as Mims tries to beat out veteran Trent Brown for the starting job.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Monday that Brown is still working his way back on to the field after landing on the Non-Football Injury list after experiencing “tightness” when reporting for camp on July 23.
“We don’t feel like we need to rush into anything,” he said. “We’re all on the same page with that, doing the things he can control right now. You won’t see him (Tuesday). Probably not the next stretch of practices (Thursday-Friday), but it’s possible. But right now, my gut would tell me we’ll probably give him a couple of more practices out. And then work him back in.”
Every day Brown sits out is a big boost for Mims, who got a jump start on winning the job in OTAs when Brown was away from the team dealing with a family issue.
Mims spent as much time studying left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who not only is a veteran starter but also fits the rookie’s physical profile at 6’8″, 345 pounds.
Brown showed up to Mims’ first news conference the day after the Bengals drafted him, and the two have been inseparable since. With another tower of a human in Trent Brown at 6’8″, 380 pounds, the Bengals have a gigantic trio of tackles with transferrable profiles.
And while Trent Brown hasn’t been on the field, he’s been in Mims’ ear since camp began, helping the rookie at every step.
“We’re really excited about Trent because, to me, he’s a known commodity who’s played at a winning level in this league for a long time,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “And Amarius has every opportunity to become that. Ultimately, I think we’re going to land at a really good place where, both of those guys and Orlando, all of them are going to help us win football games.”
