ESPN news: NFL Draft Selected Eight Bulldogs
During the course of the three days the NFL Draft took place this past weekend, eight Georgia football players were selected. Tight end Brock Bowers and tackle Amarius Mims were selected in the first round on the first night, continuing the program’s seven-year winning streak. Georgia tight end Bowers’ selection in the NFL Draft marked the continuation of a record-breaking sixth consecutive year for tight ends selected in the country.
With eight players selected this year, the Bulldogs tied for fourth place with two other universities.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected Bowers with the 13th overall pick, while the Cincinnati Bengals selected Mims with the 18th pick. Ben Watson, who was picked by the New England Patriots in 2004 at the 32nd overall pick, was the last Georgia tight end to be selected in the first round before Bowers. After Broderick Jones (14th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers) was selected last season, Mims became the fifth Georgie offensive lineman selected in the first round under Kirby Smart.
On the second night, Georgia was selected for four more players, three of them were defensive backs.
The top Georgia receiver drafted since A.J. Green in 2011 (fourth overall pick, Cincinnati Bengals) is junior wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was chosen by the L.A. Chargers with the 34th overall pick (second choice of the second round). Next came sophomore defensive back Kamari Lassiter, the first Georgia defender taken and the Texans’ first Bulldog selected since 2012. Lassiter went 42nd overall to the Texans. Later in the second round, Lassiter’s backfield partner, junior Javon Bullard, was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 58th pick.
The Bulldogs’ next pick was senior defensive back Tykee Smith, who was taken 89th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round.
Georgia has now had multiple defensive backs selected in four consecutive rounds after the three defensive backs were chosen on Friday night.
On the third and final day of the NFL Draft, two more former Bulldogs were chosen. The first was junior center Sedrick Van Pran, who was chosen by the Buffalo Bills with the 141st overall pick (sixth pick of the fifth round). The Atlanta Falcons selected senior defensive lineman Zion Logue with the 197th overall pick (21st pick of the sixth round) in the subsequent round.
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Three-day selections of two Bulldogs round out the 2024 NFL Draft.
To conclude the third and last day of the 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday, two more Bulldogs were chosen in the fifth and sixth rounds.
At the end of draft weekend, Georgia has selected eight players overall for 2024, which is the fourth-highest number in program history and the Kirby Smart era.
The Buffalo Bills selected junior center Sedrick Van Pran, the sixth choice of the fifth round and 141st overall, as the first Bulldog taken on day three. The Bills have selected an offensive lineman from the Bulldogs for the third time, and for the first time since Cordy Glenn in 2012. Buffalo has selected nine players from Georgia; three of those selections (Jake Fromm in 2020, James Cook in 2022, and Sedrick Van Pran in 2024) have occurred in the last five years.
The Atlanta Falcons selected senior defensive lineman Zion Logue with the 197th overall pick (21st pick of the sixth round) in the subsequent round. Since Akeem Dent in 2011, Logue is the first defensive player and the first Bulldog defensive lineman prospect chosen by the Falcons. Since 1968, Atlanta has selected 12 players from Georgia; Logue is the third to stay in the state in the last three seasons (Justin Shaffer & John Fitzpatrick, 2022).
New Orleans, Louisiana native Van Pran started all 44 games during his three years as a starter at center for the Georgia Bulldogs, helping them win back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022. Van Pran, a captain of the squad in 2023, was recognized for his season-long play with the SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy.
After his play against South Carolina, Van Pran won the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week award and was selected a First Team All-American by ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Van Pran was added to the Senior Bowl, Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy, and Preseason Media Days All-SEC First Team watch lists prior to his junior year.
Throughout his five seasons with the Bulldogs, Lebanon, Tennessee native Logue started 16 of 50 games and recorded 52 total tackles, including 28 solo stops and 4.5 for loss of yardage. Along with those three deflected passes, a forced fumble, and a recovery, the senior also recorded 1.5 sacks. Logue made a career-high 17 tackles in 10 games as a starter in 2023, helping a team that was seventh in the country in scoring defense (15.6 points per game).
Since Amarius Mims was selected on Thursday and Van Pran on Saturday, Georgia has had two or more offensive linemen selected in drafts every season for the past five years.
Three More Go in the Second and Third Rounds of the NFL Draft
Three defensive backs and four more Bulldogs—three total—were chosen in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft on Friday.
In every draft since 2018, the Bulldogs have had at least six picks, and Saturday’s last four rounds will continue that trend. After having four additional occasions with two picks in the round, Georgia’s three second round selections are the program’s highest total.
The top Georgia receiver drafted since A.J. Green in 2011 (fourth overall pick, Cincinnati Bengals) is junior wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was chosen by the L.A. Chargers with the 34th overall pick (second choice of the second round). Next came sophomore defensive back Kamari Lassiter, the first Georgia defender taken and the Texans’ first Bulldog selected since 2012. Lassiter went 42nd overall to the Texans. Later in the second round, Lassiter’s backfield partner, junior Javon Bullard, was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 58th pick.
The Bulldogs’ next pick was senior defensive back Tykee Smith, who was taken 89th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected junior tight end Brock Bowers 13th overall on Thursday, five spots before Amarius Mims, a junior offensive tackle, was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with a first-round choice, extending the program’s winning streak to seven years.
The Chatsworth, Georgia native McConkey started 21 of the 39 games he played and concluded his career with 119 catches for 1,687 yards (14.2 avg.) and 14 receiving touchdowns. His final game saw Georgia defeat No. 5 Florida State 63-3, and he added 13 carries for 216 yards (16.6 avg.) and four touchdowns, including a 27-yard touchdown run in the 2023 Capital One Orange Bowl. The Bulldogs finished seventh in 2023 in both Total Offense (496.5 yards/game) and Scoring Offense (40.1 points/game), in part because of McConkey’s contributions.
McConkey’s 21 punt returns for 279 yards (13.3 avg) made him a danger on special teams as well. After receiving his degree in finance, the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy winner and 2022 All-SEC Second Team pick was recognized as a National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete last season. He was also named to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.
The Chargers have selected a Bulldog nine times since 1960. Since 2021, the Chargers have drafted three players from Georgia, including Jamaree Salyer, an offensive tackle, in 2022. Since George Pickens was chosen in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, McConkey is the first Bulldog receiver to be chosen in that round.
Savannah, Georgia, native Lassiter finished with 86 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception in three seasons after starting 29 of his 43 career games. Eight pass breakups in 2023 put the All-SEC Second Team pick in the lead for the team. Lassiter played a crucial role in the defense’s back end, which finished seventh in the country in terms of scoring defense (15.6 points per game).
Ben Jones, the 99th choice overall in the fourth round in 2012, was the Texans’ last selection of a Bulldog. Since the Kirby Smart era’s inaugural NFL Draft in 2017, Lassiter is the tenth defensive back from Georgia to be selected, with at least one being chosen in each of the previous four drafts.
Bullard, a native of Milledgeville, Georgia, was selected to the 2023 All-SEC Second Team following his three years as a Bulldog tally of 114 tackles, 3.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, four interceptions, and a fumble recovery. He started 22 of his 40 career games and was Georgia’s Defensive MVP in the CFP National Championship Game and CFP Semifinal as the Bulldogs won their second consecutive national championship in 2022. Bullard contributed to the Bulldogs’ ninth-place finishes in both the previous season’s passing yards allowed (175.4) and total defense (289.1 yards/game).
Since Pete Tinsley was chosen by the Packers in 1938, Bullard is the 20th player from Georgia to be chosen. Bullard is the seventh UGA defender selected in a row by Green Bay. Now, four consecutive drafts have seen the selection of multiple Bulldog defensive backs.
In his final season—his third with the Bulldogs—Smith, a native of Philadelphia, led the team with 70 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and four interceptions. In his two years at West Virginia (2019–20) and his three years with the Bulldogs (2021–23), Smith amassed 215 tackles, including 21.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, eight interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Despite injuries, the 2020 First Team All-American and 2019 Freshman All-American led Georgia’s defense during their recent historic run. With 16 starts, he concluded his career at Georgia.
Since 1976, the Buccaneers have selected eight Bulldogs in the draft. Tampa Bay last selected Jermaine Phillips, a UGA defensive back, in 2002. This year, they will draft punter Jake Camarda in 2022.
The NFL Draft is still going on; the last four rounds start at noon on Saturday.
