Stats Crunch: Georgia and the NFL Draft recap

Georgia had eight players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. That was tied for the sixth highest, by any school in the country. It's the fourth straight year that Georgia has had at least eight draft selections. The Bulldogs have had 42 picks in the last four years and 33 in the last three. Georgia has also had at least one pick since 1993, and has had at least one first round pick in each of the last seven drafts.

Brock Bowers was the first Georgia Bulldog to hear his name called on Thursday. The three-time All-American and two-time Mackey Award winner was drafted 13th overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders were one of the last teams to ever draft their first Bulldog when they selected their Matt Stinchcomb in 1999. Bowers was the team’s fifth, including one in each of the last three drafts (Zamir White and Christopher Smith II). Bowers was also the fourth 13th overall draft pick from the Bulldogs. Lindsay Scott, Marcus Stroud, and Jordan Davis were the others with that lucky number.

The pick of Bowers means that a Georgia tight end was selected in each of the last six drafts. Georgia is the only school to accomplish that feat. Notre Dame and Iowa are the only other schools with four since 2019. Alabama and LSU are the only other SEC schools that had more than one, with two. Even crazier is that Auburn has had just one tight end drafted in the last 31 NFL Drafts. Looking at all these comparisons, Georgia has a good claim for the current title of Tight End U.

Amarius Mims was the next Georgia player to be taken. He was picked 18th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. He is the third Bulldog to be taken at that number (Robert Edwards and Matt Stinchcomb). He is also the third Bulldog to be taken by the Bengals in the first round (A.J. Green and David Pollack). He is the fifth Bulldog offensive lineman to be taken by the Bengals (Mike “Moonpie” Wilson, Joel Parrish, Clint Boling, and Trey Hill). Mims was also the 17th first round draft pick that played for Georgia under Kirby Smart. It was also the fifth time in seven years that Georgia has had at least two first round picks. Prior to that, multiple first rounders happened just seven times. Below are those 12 occasions.

Ladd McConkey was the third Bulldog taken when he was selected in the second round and 34th overall. Chris Terry and Boss Bailey were the only other Dawgs taken at No. 34. This was just the second time that the Chargers have ever drafted a Bulldog wide receiver. Gene Washington was drafted in the ninth round, 235th overall in the 1977 NFL Draft. Of all the wide receivers drafted by the Dawgs, McConkey was drafted the third earliest. Ten Georgia wide receivers have been taken in the first 100 picks (not counting transfers).

Kamari Lassiter was next to be drafted. He was picked in the second round, 42nd overall by the Houston Texans. Lassiter was just the second Bulldog drafted by the Texans (Ben Jones). Lassister is also the only Bulldog to be taken 42nd overall. He was the fourth Dawg taken within the first 42 picks of the draft. That was the fourth earliest the fourth Bulldog has ever been taken in one NFL Draft (and three of the five have been under Smart).

Toward the end of the second round, another Bulldog defensive back came off the board. Javon Bullard became the fifth Dawg selected when the Green Bay Packers took him 58th overall. The previous three times that Green Bay took a Georgia player they chose the Bulldog in the first round (Eric Stokes, Devonte Wyatt and Quay Walker). Since the late 1960s when offensive and defensive positions have been more specialized, the Packers have never taken a Bulldog offensive player. Here are the defensive Dawgs that have kept that “G” logo on their helmet.

Yet another Georgia defensive back was taken in the next round. Tykee Smith was taken in the third go-around, 89th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The last time the Bucs have taken a Bulldog defensive back was in 2002 when they took two (Jermaine Phillips and Tim Wansley). Multiple defensive backs taken in one NFL Draft has been a common theme lately. In each of the last four NFL Drafts more than one Dawg from the backfield has been taken. Also, it was just the fourth time ever that three or more Dawg defensive backs were taken in one NFL Draft.

Sedrick Van Pran-Granger was taken on day three. The big center was taken by the Buffalo Bills 141st overall. With Mims and Van Pran-Granger, it makes five straight drafts with multiple Dawg offensive linemen taken. Buffalo has taken an offensive lineman from Georgia three previous times (Edgar Chandler, Jonas Jennings, Cordy Glenn). The Bills have taken a Bulldog in the fifth round twice prior (Jeff Pyburn and Jake Fromm). Counting those two, there have been 30 Georgia players drafted in the fifth round alone and many of them had a lot of success as a Bulldog. Here are some of the more notable names:

The last Bulldog taken in the 2024 NFL Draft was Zion Logue. The defensive lineman was taken in the sixth round, 197th overall. This was a pick for the Atlanta Falcons, of all teams The 2020s have had five NFL Drafts so far, and in those five drafts, three Bulldogs have been selected by the Atlanta Falcons (Justin Shaffer and John FitzPatrick are the other two). In fact, the three Georgia players taken this decade so far is tied for the most selected by the Falcons in any decade. Here are the Bulldogs taken by the home-state Falcons decade-by-decade.

*** And a bonus stat for you ***

Next year, early projections have both Carson Beck and Mykel Williams going within the first ten picks of the 2025 NFL Draft. Georgia has never had two picks in the top ten in one draft. The closest was in 2009, when Matthew Stafford was drafted first overall and Knowshon Moreno was picked at the 12th position.