A year ago today, Bengals right tackle Amarius Mims wondered if he had made the right choice by delving into the NFL Draft with just 803 snaps for the Georgia Bulldogs.

What if his ankle injury and light experience drove him deep into the first round? Or even worse, made him wait another night for the second round?

Mims' beaming face this week gave you the answer as he reported to Paycor Stadium for the start of offseason workouts. Now he's getting ready to fly back to Georgia for the Thursday night draft party of the man he played next to in Athens, guard Tate Ratledge.

"I spent the last three months rehabbing, recovering and refreshing," Mims said. "That's the three 'Rs' right there. That's what I did this offseason."

Long before Mims took his 836^th and last snap of his rookie year in a gut-check performance during a must-win game in Pittsburgh, he knew he made the right call. It was draft night when the Saints made Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga the 14^th pick and the fourth tackle chosen.

Mims sensed he was next. Only he thought it was going to be where he ended the season. Pittsburgh. At No. 20. That's the team that had shown much of the interest. He had no idea the Bengals would take him at No. 18.

But he's glad they did. and so are they. During 13 starts, the massive Mims held his 6-8, 340-pound own against the AFC North werewolves Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt and drew praise from quarterback Joe Burrow all the way down. He showed the Steelers why they wanted him when he came off the bench in the finale to play 14 snaps with a broken hand and fended Watt off the stat sheet.

Cue the offseason plan.

"I played a little banged-up last year, especially toward the end of the season. That's what comes with it," Mims said. "Now I'm just focused on being more of a pro. Taking care of your body. Those bumps and bruises at the beginning of the season, you feel them. But they add up as you go. The more you go, the better the competition, the better the game. You've just go to be able to take care of your body."

It's not so much he played so few snaps at Georgia. It's that he didn't really have a chance to physically prepare for this last season in the whirlwind of the draft.

"I was going, going, going. This offseason is different. It's my first offseason," says Mims, who was also coming off ankle surgery. "I get time to myself. I can clear my mind and think. It's been really good for me. Just slowing things down."

New Bengals offensive line coach Scott Peters knows exactly what he's getting. When Peters coached the Patriots offensive line last spring, he also wondered about the big kid from Georgia who made only six starts. He'd like to have seen a larger body of work from a potential first-round pick.

So Peters went to Athens for his pro day, where he was surprised to discover Mims wouldn't participate. But Peters made the most of his visit and talked to Mims for an hour in the team room, where he was impressed with his grasp of the offense despite his limited snaps.

"I really enjoyed talking to him. I was really impressed with the character," Peters says. "Amarius is a rare talent. He's got great movement skills. He's extremely powerful, and his great size. When you put all those things together, plus he's an intelligent kid, good person, high character. All that stuff helps make that projection … I think with Armarius it was pretty obvious this was a special talent."

Like the Bengals, Peters went thumbs-up.

"I had him high, too," Peters says.

Mims just wishes he knew that a year ago today. He thinks three of his Georgia teammates are going in the first round on Thursday.

"Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams, Malaki Starks," says Mims of two edgers and a safety, respectively. "I hope one of them is going to be there at No. 17."

Wherever they go, they'll take the rookie year by the guy who went No. 18 a year ago.