Bulldogs Mock Draft Tracker 3.0

With the NFL Draft beginning this Thursday, UGASports concludes our series on mock drafts with the final edition of the Bulldogs Mock Draft Tracker. We released the tracker's v1.0 in late January, which was followed by v2.0 a month and a half ago.

We analyzed the same five mocks as before, all of which have been updated. The mock drafts from Pro Football Network (PFN), Drafttek, Draft Countdown, and Walter Football each project all seven rounds, whereas Tankathon forecasts just the first three rounds.

Six former Georgia players are projected to be drafted by all five mock drafts (mocks’ average overall selection in parenthesis): Brock Bowers (11.8), Amarius Mims (20.4), Ladd McConkey (36.0), Kamari Lassiter (54.8), Javon Bullard (63.0), and Sedrick Van Pran (94.0). Although not forecasted in Tankathon’s three-round mock draft, Tykee Smith appeared in all four seven-round mocks with an average overall selection of 141.0.

In the table below, players are listed with their increase ⬆️ or decrease 🔻 in average overall selection compared to the last draft tracker, or v2.0. For instance, Ladd McConkey’s average overall selection was 38.2 for v2.0, followed by a 36.0 average for the current v3.0. That’s an increase of 2.2 places (2 rounded) since our Draft Tracker for last month.

After their increase/decrease since v2.0, each player is followed by a projected round, overall pick in parenthesis, and selecting NFL team according to the five mock drafts:

For three of the seven Bulldogs prominently featured in the mock drafts (Bowers, Mims, and McConkey), their draft status essentially remains the same since our previous update.

Lassiter and Van Pran’s status has slipped significantly since v2.0. In fact, since our initial version in late January, Van Pran has slipped an average of 36 spots (No. 58 to No. 94), or more than an entire round. On the other hand, the draft status has improved slightly for secondary members Bullard and Tykee Smith.

Multiple mocks forecast Bullard to be selected by the Miami Dolphins with the No. 55 overall pick in the second round. A Bulldogs player hasn’t been selected in the first two rounds by the Dolphins since Bill Stanfill went No. 11 overall in 1969.

In addition, multiple mocks forecast Smith to be selected by the Houston Texans with the No. 123 overall pick in the fourth round. Since our v1.0, this former Georgia defensive back’s draft status has increased sharply—also 36 spots—from a No. 177 average to No. 141.

Notably, three of the five mock drafts project Bowers to be selected by the New York Jets with the No. 10 overall pick. Entering this weekend, the Jets have drafted only 11 Georgia players in history with the highest being linebacker Mo Lewis (No. 63 overall) in 1991.

Also, three of the five mock drafts forecast Mims to be selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 20 overall pick. Notably, the Steelers ended last season with three former Georgia players—George Pickens, Broderick Jones, and Darnell Washington—seeing significant playing time on their offense.

For former Georgia players, no matter where they get drafted, or which team drafts them, a trend will certainly continue this Thursday. Beginning with a then school-record nine draftees three years ago, followed by a staggering 15 selections in 2022 and then 10 in 2023, it appears as many as 10 Bulldogs will be drafted this year.

The NFL Draft will run from this Thursday, April 25, in Detroit to Saturday, April 27.