Amarius Mims is already proving why comparison to Cincinnati Bengals draft bust was deeply foolish

Every time I read someone compare Amarius Mims to Cedric Ogbuehi this offseason, in any capacity, I cringed painfully. I think I even brought it up in passing and instantly regretted it.

Being nimble athletes with long arms is hardly enough to qualify a strong comparison between two offensive linemen, especially when so many other aspects of their games differ in fundamental ways.

We on the outside can only form these player comps using the traits we can identify, stuff that pops up on tape, the statsheet, and at the scouting combine.

None of us can speak on the intangible side of how players operate, and this is where Mims is already light years ahead of Ogbuehi.

It's only been about a week of camp, and Mims is not only practicing with the starters due to Trent Brown's surprise NFI listing, he's making the right impression for his approach to the task.

“He wants to be perfect," Offensive line coach Frank Pollack told The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. "He wants to be dead on every time the first time, and that’s just impossible. You haven’t seen some of this stuff — it’s a new concept, new technique, new adjustments, new verbiage and language. I really like where he’s at and looking forward to him taking that next step because he’s a big man and he needs to play big.”

The advantage of being 6-8 and 350 with the movement ability of a player much smaller in stature can't be understated. Mims has gifts that other linemen can only dream of, which made it easy for the Bengals to draft him , but potential at the highest level cannot be reached with physical talent alone. You have to be wired to get the most out of yourself.

In short, Mims looks like he actually cares, which could never be said about Ogbuehi.

The tape was never good for Ogbuehi during his starting years of 2016-17, but it seemed very obvious that his heart wasn't in it to begin with. This was never more evident than when he got beaten badly against the Jacksonville Jaguars and allowed Andy Dalton to be sacked, and then proceeded to look at his quarterback on the ground and just walk away without helping him up .

Did he lack an anchor? Absolutely, but you can try to coach around that flaw. The Bengals cut Ogbuehi before his rookie contract expired because he stunk and wasn't about it. And folks had the audacity to bring up his name in association with Mims.

The pressure on Mims is no different than the bust that came before him nine years ago. He's on track to potentially start as a rookie in a division where pass rushers are kings . If his head isn't in the game, he will be exposed for it.

Luckily, the Bengals appeared to be sure of that this time around.

Related: Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims explains why he's equipped to quickly transition to NFL life