ATHENS — Amarius Mims was built for an event like the 2024 NFL Combine. At 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds, the event will allow him to showcase his Hulk-esque frame and raw athleticism.

It’ll also give him a chance to answer some of the many questions NFL evaluators will have for Mims. The Georgia offensive tackle is seen as a potential first-round pick — Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com has him landing with the Baltimore Ravens at pick No. 30 — but he is far from a perfect prospect.

He has just eight career starts under his belt. While he’s played more snaps than those raw numbers would indicate, it’s still far less than teams usually want to see from a first-round tackle prospect.

He also spent most of his time at the right tackle position.

“Those eight starts are as good as any lineman in this class,” ESPN’s Matt Miller said in a conference call with reporters this week. “That’s what makes you excited about him and why I think at 20 he’s a good value. College right tackle, last year I thought Broderick Jones would be an NFL left tackle. Now you have the ability to get those two back together, play Broderick on the left side where there’s an immediate need and you’re putting a young guy, only 20 years old, who is incredibly athletic with an incredibly high ceiling on the right side.”

Miller has Mims teaming up with former Bulldog Broderick Jones to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh has also taken George Pickens and Darnell Washington in recent drafts as well.

Ability is far from the reason Mims only has eight career starts. Georgia has produced a lot of talent on the offensive line in recent years, including first-round picks like Andrew Thomas and Jones. Mims had to sit behind the latter and current Los Angeles Ram Warren McClendon during the early parts of his college career.

Mims made his first career start in the College Football Playoff win over Ohio State and played flawlessly. He was poised to have a big junior season. But an ankle injury he suffered against South Carolina forced him to miss six games in 2023.

Working in Mims’ favor though, is that he fought and was able to return to the field for Georgia. He impressed in wins over Tennessee and Georgia Tech late in the season. Mims picked up another injury early in the loss against Alabama and missed the 63-3 win over Florida State as well.

The entire combine process will be significant for Mims. The on-field workouts, meetings and with teams and all-important medical checks will play a big role in determining whether or not the Bulldogs produce another first-round offensive lineman.

“I’m confident after we watch him workout that it’ll be, if not the best workout of the combine for offensive linemen, one of the best workouts for offensive linemen,” Miller said. “I think that’s the story he needs to tell. ‘I was a great teammate, waited my turn and when I got my opportunity, I played as well as anyone in the country and then unfortunately suffered an injury.’ And he came back from it instead of just opting out and saying, ‘No. I’ll sit it out and go to the NFL.’”

“As soon as he got his turn late in 2022, he was amazing and unfortunately not hurt this year.”

It is a deep offensive tackle class, with three potentially coming off the board in the first 10 picks. Due to his lack of experience, Mims isn’t likely to go that high. He could still very well vault himself into the middle of the first round with a strong showing. Among the 11 players heading to Indianapolis, none perhaps have as much to potentially gain as Mims.

Mims is one of two Georgia offensive linemen participating in the NFL combine, as center Sedrick Van Pran will also head to Indianapolis next week. The offensive linemen will wrap things up with on-field drills on Sunday, March 3.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is set for April 25. We’ll learn then if Mims was able to answer all of his questions.