Former Georgia wide receiver Javon Mims, a classic later-bloomer, had a strong showing at the school’s Pro Day on Wednesday.
Before his fine senior season, Wims was not on the NFL’s draft radar.
“I came out here and showed pretty much my whole skill set,” said Wims, who worked out in front of all 32 teams and four NFL head coaches. “Some of them want me to be the big physical receiver on the outside and that’s what I did for the team. Out here, I wanted to show that I was versatile and that I could be in the slot.”
Wims, who’s 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, played in 15 games with 14 starts last season. He was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 45 catches for 720 yards and seven touchdowns.
That he’s preparing for the NFL draft, which is set for April 26-28 in Arlington, Texas, is a minor football miracle and a major study in perseverance.
After bouncing back-and-forth between basketball and football and then playing in a run-oriented offense, he was barely recruited coming out of high school in Jacksonville, Fla.
He ended up at Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss. and then sat out a year before playing at Hinds (Miss.) Community College. His production at Hinds caught the attention of Georgia’s former coaching staff.
“I never lost faith,” Wims said. “That’s the one thing I held on. I kept a positive mindset and I was going to try and try and try until they told me I couldn’t do it.”
After a bumpy first year at Georgia, he emerged during the team’s magical run to the national championship game.
“My senior year I came out and established myself as a threat on the outside as a go-to receiver,” Wims said. “I think with the success that the team had, it helped my individual success.”
Wims, who said he ran the 40-yard dash in a 4.47 unofficial time, is attracting a lot of interest from NFL teams.
“I interviewed with the Lions and the Dolphins last night,” Wims said. “I have an interview set up with the Saints. I’m going to work out for the Falcons, Jags, Dolphins and the Broncos.”
The Falcons didn’t re-sign two of their six receivers over the offseason. Taylor Gabriel and Nick Williams were allowed to leave in free agency.
Since the team has lucrative contracts with wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, who has a $7.5 million cap number for 2018, they must find some young talent in the draft or as a college free agent to help.
“He’s one of the guys that’s on our (radar) and in our sights,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We need to make sure that with our local Pro Day we continue to press more and more on it.”
The Falcons will likely wait until the middle rounds of the draft to look for a wide receiver.
“There are some really good receivers out there,” Dimitroff said. “They are not all necessarily at the top of the position group. There are some really good football players. There are opportunities that are there.”
Wims wanted to show off his route running to the scouts.
“I’m not just a big jump-ball guy,” Wims said. “Today, I checked a lot of boxes. I answered a lot of questions. I think I ran faster and I was more fluid in my routes. I just kept working at it. I just wanted to show my natural ability.”
Wims believes that his game translates into the NFL.
“In the offense that I played in, it translates very well,” Wims said. “We played in a pro-style offense and that translates very well. I can run a full route tree. … I won’t struggle with that. I just have to get more polish.”
The Falcons were out in force for Georgia’s Pro Day with more than 20 members from the scouting and coaching staffs on hand.
“It was the majority of the coaching staff,” Dimitroff said “They love getting away from the office this time of year. ... Dan (Quinn) and I came over and had a good talk on the way over here.”
Wims is not the only Georgia player the Falcons are scouting. They are in need of defensive tackles and were closely watching former Georgia players Trent Thompson and Jon Atkins.
Georgia’s top prospect is linebacker Roquan Smith, followed by running backs Sony Michel and Nick Chubb.
“Georgia comes to the table with a lot of really good athletes,” Dimitroff said. “They can thrive on a big stage and we got a chance to see that this year.”
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