Packers draft profile: Baylor WR Denzel Mims

After a 13-3 regular season and a trip to the NFC championship game, the Green Bay Packers still have a few holes to fill on their roster if they want to improve in 2020.

Green Bay is set to pick at No. 30 in the 2020 NFL draft, so it will have to wait a bit before making its first selection.

In this “Packers draft profile” series, we will look at several options for Packers in the first round and dissect their collegiate careers, highlight reel and how they would fit with the team.

In this edition we look at Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims.

OVERVIEW

Mims hails from the small town of Daingerfield, Texas, and decided to play college football at Baylor after emerging from Daingerfield High School as a three-star recruit and the No. 68 player in Texas in the 2016 class.

Mims saw limited time on the field during his freshman season but grew as a player every year with the Bears and became very productive. Mims had a great sophomore season in 2017 with 61 catches for 1,087 yards and eight touchdowns. He followed that up with 55 catches for 794 yards and eight scores his junior season and finished out his college career with 66 receptions for 1,020 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019.

COMBINE RESULTS

40-yard dash: 4.38 seconds

Bench press: 16 reps

Vertical jump: 38.5 inches

Broad jump: 131.0 inches

3 cone drill: 6.66 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.43 seconds

MEASURABLES

FILM ROOM

 WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“Denzel Mims is a strong Day 2 candidate for a team looking to develop a starter at the X or Z receiver position. Mims has a catch radius the size of Mars, with unfathomable leaping ability, tremendous concentration and body control in the air, and the hand strength to snag and secure balls at the very extent of his considerable frame. While he doesn’t have amazing vertical push in his routes, it is more than sufficient to threaten man coverage and regularly open up back-shoulder windows outside of the numbers. Mims’ impressive athletic profile also lends itself to flashes as a route-runner and in releases against press coverage, though a continued increase in upper body strength as well as route discipline will iron out the existing kinks. Mims is a candidate to contribute in Year 1 and start in Year 2 as his route tree expands and flourishes.”- TheDraftNetwork.com

“An incredibly deep class of wide receivers could see Mims drafted lower than he would be in most drafts, but make no mistake about it: he is the truth. A lengthy wide out with insane athleticism and more than enough physicality, he has the tools to develop into the big-bodied target a lot of teams love to line up on the outside.” – Draft Wire (USA Today)

“Mims is a long-striding outside target with excellent height, weight and speed and an insane catch-radius. He’s a touchdown threat anytime he’s near the red zone, with the focus and body control to finesse and finish catches above the rim. He struggles to release and separate from physical press corners, and he doesn’t consistently compete and outwork opponents for positioning on contested catches. If the route work and intensity catch up with his natural athletic ability, he could become a dangerous ‘Z’ receiver in a vertical offense, but the floor might be lower than some teams are comfortable with.” – NFL.com

HOW HE FITS

Mims has the wonderful blend of speed and size that is so attractive to NFL teams. While it seems like he needs to polish his route-running abilities, Mims has the physical tools and wide receiver skills to contribute right away. He could be a great compliment to Davante Adams and with such a deep receiver class, Mims could definitely be available to Green Bay at No. 30.