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Dylan Fairchild calls it “the time of the unknown.”
The offensive guard who started for Georgia football the last two seasons should hear his name called sometime during the NFL Draft that begins Thursday night and comes to an end on Saturday.
“It can be stressful at times but just learning to enjoy it,” he said of the months leading up to the draft. “Sit back and enjoy the process.”
Georgia has produced 63 NFL draft picks under coach Kirby Smart and that number could approach or even surpass 75 this weekend.
“I get excited just thinking about it,” defensive end Mykel Williams said. “That’s something I always wanted to do. It’s been a dream of mine since I was probably like 10. Just reaching it gets me excited. Just to wake up every day and that will be my job, my career, that’s even more exciting.”
Three Georgia players are widely projected to go in the first round Thursday night and in this order: linebacker/edge rusher Jalon Walker, Williams and safety Malaki Starks.
Starks, the former Jefferson High star, is attending the draft being held in Green Bay, Wis.
Depending on which seven-round mock draft projection you look at, Georgia could have anywhere from 10 to 13 players drafted.
“The standard is already set here, you just have to reach it,” defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse said. “You want to go to the NFL, you come to Georgia.”
Michigan led all college programs with 13 overall players picked in 2024.
Georgia, in 2022, set an NFL record for a seven-round draft (1994-present) with 15 players selected.
Based on seven-round mock drafts by PFF, ESPN’s Jordan Reid and Matt Miller, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, Georgia players who could go Friday when the second and third round will be held include center Jared Wilson, guard Tate Ratledge, inside linebacker Smael Mondon, Fairchild and running back Trevor Etienne.
Those projected to go on Saturday when rounds four to seven will be held include defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, defensive lineman Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse and wide receiver Arian Smith. Late-round or priority free agents include safety Dan Jackson, wide receiver Dominic Lovett, outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss, offensive guard Xavier Truss and tight end Ben Yurosek.
Georgia can sell to recruits and those it’s courting out of the transfer portal how well it prepares players for the next level and that it leads all schools in NFL snaps for rookies since 2022 with 29,559, ahead of Alabama, Ohio State and Penn State, according to Pro Football Focus.
Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout for three teams and now NFL Network draft analyst, said Georgia sends so many players to the NFL because of the intense practices that get them ready for the league.
“I just think you're seeing great players every single day in practice, and if you're not competing and focused and getting better every day, there's ten guys behind you that are going to take your job,” he said. “So that creates some urgency there. Then on top of that, you've got a staff of good teachers. Everybody listens to Kirby, and he gets clipped off for yelling and screaming and how intense he is, but when you listen to him and you see it and you are around him, he's an excellent teacher.”
Etienne, a projected mid-round pick after transferring from Florida, vouched for the rugged Georgia practices against the Bulldogs defense.
“I felt the pain that everyone else felt,” he said. “I felt that four days a week.”
Georgia sent 14 players to the NFL combine, prompting Jeremiah to say on air that after a player commits to Georgia they get their combine invite sent.
In reality, he said last week what they learn at Georgia is a big part of the process.
“These guys come prepared,” he said. “They've played in NFL schemes. It's just like the minor leagues. It's just like the minor leagues for the NFL. It's pretty incredible what they've built there, and we've seen it before. Alabama, you know, has done that for a long time where guys just kind of arrived. Sometimes they could be a little bit beat up because of the intensity and the physicality, but man, I feel like you're getting real dudes when you go shopping at Georgia.”
The Eagles are known as big buyers of Bulldogs with their “Philly Dawgs,” who helped lead the team to the Super Bowl last season. The Eagles drafted Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 and Kelee Ringo in the fourth round and selected Nakobe Dean in the third round in 2022.
The draft is being held in Green Bay, where the Packers have drafted four Georgia players since 2021, including three first rounders. The Packers selected Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt in the first round in 2022 and Javon Bullard in the second round in 2024. Eric Stokes, now with the Raiders, went in the first in 2021.
“We’re all going to have different journeys,” Starks said. “Somebody’s going to get picked early, somebody’s going to get picked really late. When you get there, how do you stay there and what’s your impact? I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s not what number you are, it’s what value you bring.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football could have one of its largest NFL draft classes. Again.
Continue reading...
The offensive guard who started for Georgia football the last two seasons should hear his name called sometime during the NFL Draft that begins Thursday night and comes to an end on Saturday.
“It can be stressful at times but just learning to enjoy it,” he said of the months leading up to the draft. “Sit back and enjoy the process.”
Georgia has produced 63 NFL draft picks under coach Kirby Smart and that number could approach or even surpass 75 this weekend.
“I get excited just thinking about it,” defensive end Mykel Williams said. “That’s something I always wanted to do. It’s been a dream of mine since I was probably like 10. Just reaching it gets me excited. Just to wake up every day and that will be my job, my career, that’s even more exciting.”
Three Georgia players are widely projected to go in the first round Thursday night and in this order: linebacker/edge rusher Jalon Walker, Williams and safety Malaki Starks.
Starks, the former Jefferson High star, is attending the draft being held in Green Bay, Wis.
Depending on which seven-round mock draft projection you look at, Georgia could have anywhere from 10 to 13 players drafted.
“The standard is already set here, you just have to reach it,” defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse said. “You want to go to the NFL, you come to Georgia.”
Michigan led all college programs with 13 overall players picked in 2024.
Georgia, in 2022, set an NFL record for a seven-round draft (1994-present) with 15 players selected.
Based on seven-round mock drafts by PFF, ESPN’s Jordan Reid and Matt Miller, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, Georgia players who could go Friday when the second and third round will be held include center Jared Wilson, guard Tate Ratledge, inside linebacker Smael Mondon, Fairchild and running back Trevor Etienne.
Those projected to go on Saturday when rounds four to seven will be held include defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, defensive lineman Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse and wide receiver Arian Smith. Late-round or priority free agents include safety Dan Jackson, wide receiver Dominic Lovett, outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss, offensive guard Xavier Truss and tight end Ben Yurosek.
Georgia can sell to recruits and those it’s courting out of the transfer portal how well it prepares players for the next level and that it leads all schools in NFL snaps for rookies since 2022 with 29,559, ahead of Alabama, Ohio State and Penn State, according to Pro Football Focus.
Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout for three teams and now NFL Network draft analyst, said Georgia sends so many players to the NFL because of the intense practices that get them ready for the league.
“I just think you're seeing great players every single day in practice, and if you're not competing and focused and getting better every day, there's ten guys behind you that are going to take your job,” he said. “So that creates some urgency there. Then on top of that, you've got a staff of good teachers. Everybody listens to Kirby, and he gets clipped off for yelling and screaming and how intense he is, but when you listen to him and you see it and you are around him, he's an excellent teacher.”
Etienne, a projected mid-round pick after transferring from Florida, vouched for the rugged Georgia practices against the Bulldogs defense.
“I felt the pain that everyone else felt,” he said. “I felt that four days a week.”
Georgia sent 14 players to the NFL combine, prompting Jeremiah to say on air that after a player commits to Georgia they get their combine invite sent.
In reality, he said last week what they learn at Georgia is a big part of the process.
“These guys come prepared,” he said. “They've played in NFL schemes. It's just like the minor leagues. It's just like the minor leagues for the NFL. It's pretty incredible what they've built there, and we've seen it before. Alabama, you know, has done that for a long time where guys just kind of arrived. Sometimes they could be a little bit beat up because of the intensity and the physicality, but man, I feel like you're getting real dudes when you go shopping at Georgia.”
The Eagles are known as big buyers of Bulldogs with their “Philly Dawgs,” who helped lead the team to the Super Bowl last season. The Eagles drafted Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 and Kelee Ringo in the fourth round and selected Nakobe Dean in the third round in 2022.
The draft is being held in Green Bay, where the Packers have drafted four Georgia players since 2021, including three first rounders. The Packers selected Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt in the first round in 2022 and Javon Bullard in the second round in 2024. Eric Stokes, now with the Raiders, went in the first in 2021.
“We’re all going to have different journeys,” Starks said. “Somebody’s going to get picked early, somebody’s going to get picked really late. When you get there, how do you stay there and what’s your impact? I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s not what number you are, it’s what value you bring.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football could have one of its largest NFL draft classes. Again.
Continue reading...
