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Published May 3, 2023
Stats Crunch: UGA and NFL Draft (Part Two)
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Dave McMahon  •  UGASports
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In part one's review UGASports looked at Georgia trends and quirky stats relating to the team. Part two deals more with the players that were drafted. In last week's draft, five Bulldogs who played offensive and five that played defense were drafted. Part two of this three-part series deals with the offense.

Broderick Jones was selected 14th overall by the Steelers. It was the third time that Pittsburgh chose a Bulldog in the first round. Tim Worley was chosen with the seventh pick in 1989 and Jarvis Jones was pick No. 17 in 2013. As for "true" offensive linemen, Jones was the eigth Georgia player from the men up front to have his name called in the first round and fourth since 2018.

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Georgia Offensive Linemen Selected in the First Round of NFL Draft
YearOverall PickNFL Team

Royce Smith

1972

8th

Saints

Bernard Williams

1994

14th

Eagles

Matt Stinchcomb

1999

18th

Raiders

George Foster

2003

20th

Broncos

Isaiah Wynn

2018

23rd

Patriots

Andrew Thomas

2020

4th

Giants

Isaiah Wilson

2020

29th

Titans

Broderick Jones

2023

14th

Steelers

In a wonderful tribute, Jones told the Pittsburgh media that he will be wearing 77 for the black and gold in honor of his former teammate and roommate Devin Willock who passed away in January (courtesy of Pittsburgh Sports Live).

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The next offensive Bulldog selected was also drafted by the Steelers. Tight End Darnell Washington was selected in the third round, 93rd overall. Like the stat above mentioning three first round picks by the Steelers, this too was the the third time that the Steelers selected a Bulldog in the third round. The other two were wide receivers. Andre Hastings was taken in 1993 and future hall of famer and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward was taken in 1998.

It was also the third time that the Steelers selected two Georgia players in one year. Pittsburgh took two in 1949 and two in 1952.

Georgia is the only team in the country to have a tight end selected in each of the last five years. Looking at how the Georgia tight end's room looks now, that streak should definitely continue.

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Next on the Bulldog list to be selected was the two-time CFP Championship Game Offensive MVP, Stetson Bennett. Bennett was taken by the Rams in the fourth round, 128th overall. The only "true" quarterback that played for Georgia and was drafted by the Rams was Charlie Britt in 1960. The Rams currently have a quarterback that wasn't originally a Ram that also played for the Bulldogs.

Matthew Stafford got all the high school accolades and had all the size and arm strength you want as a professional quarterback. He was selected as the No. 1 pick in 2009 by the Lions and later was traded to the Rams where he won a Super Bowl. He is currently 11th all-time in NFL history in yards passing and 12th in touchdown passes.

Bennett didn't have all that hype entering Georgia but he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back National Championships. Bennett was the seventh quarterback taken in the 2023 NFL Draft and he defeated five of the first six (did not play against Jake Haener who was selected the pick before Bennett).
Despite their differences, Stafford and Bennett had some very similar numbers while playing for the Dawgs.

Matthew Stafford vs. Stetson Bennett as Bulldogs
Matthew StaffordStetson Bennett

Seasons at UGA

2006 - 2008

2019 - 2022

Games Started

34

32

Career Completions

564 (ranked 6th)

585 (ranked 5th)

Career Pass Yards

7.731 (ranked 6th)

8,144 (ranked 5th)

TD Passes in Final Season

25 in 2008 (Junior)

25 in 2022 (2nd Senior)

Most TD Passes in a Game

5 (2008 vs Georgia Tech)

5 (2021 vs UAB)

Current NFL Team

Rams

Rams

The fourth offensive Bulldog selected in the 2023 NFL Draft was Warren McClendon. The big offensive tackle was drafted in the fifth round, 174th overall. He was drafted by the Rams as well. Taking more than one Dawg in one draft is nothing new to the Rams. If you remember from part one of this series, the Rams took three Georgia players in both 1946 and 1957. The last time, the Rams selected a Bulldog that was an offensive lineman was in 2007 when they took Ken Shackleford in the sixth round.

This is the fourth straight year in which the Dawgs have had at least two offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft.

Georgia Offensive Linemen Selected in Last 4 NFL Drafts
() represents round selected
Player 1Player 2Player 3

2020

Andrew Thomas (1)

Isaiah Wilson (1)

Solomon Kindley (4)

2021

Ben Cleveland (3)

Trey Hill (6)

2022

Justin Shaffer (6)

Jamaree Salyer (6)

2023

Broderick Jones (1)

Warren McClendon (4)

While McClendon's cousin Bryan (Georgia's current Wide Receiver Coach) was not drafted after playing for the Bulldogs, his uncle Willie was drafted. The former SEC Player of the Year was taken in the third round in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Bears.

Kenny McIntosh, the versatile Georgia running back, was taken in the seventh round, 237th overall. When the Seahawks drafted McIntosh, it marked the first time since 2011 that Seattle drafted a Georgia player (Kris Durham). The Seahawks used to have another Bulldog running back that could do it all. Mack Strong played 14 seasons with Seattle at the turn of the century and made two Pro Bowls.

McIntosh ended his career at Georgia with 1,562 yards rushing. He is tenth in that category by Bulldogs in the 2000s. Nine of the ten were drafted into the NFL. The one that did not still played in the league with four teams.

Georgia Career Rush Yard Leaders in the 2000s
Rush Yards in 2000sDrafted in NFLDrafted By

1 - Nick Chubb

4,769

2018 - 2nd round

Browns

2 - Sony Michel

3,638

2018 - 1st round

Patriots

3 - Todd Gurley

3,285

2015 - 1st round

Rams

4 - D'Andre Swift

2,885

2020 - 2nd round

Lions

5 - Knowshon Moreno

2,734

2009 - 1st round

Broncos

6 - Thomas Brown

2,646

2008 - 6th round

Falcons

7 - Musa Smith

2,202

2003 - 3rd round

Ravens

8 - Zamir White

2,043

2022 - 4th round

Raiders

9 - Kregg Lumpkin

1,700

undrafted

10 - Kenny McIntosh

1,562

2023 - 7th round

Seahawks

If you haven't seen this - look how emotional McIntosh gets when being found out that he was drafted (courtesy of the Seahawks).


Keep checking UGASports for part three coming up when the defense is the name of the game.

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