UGA LB Tae Crowder is Mr. Irrelevant
Four Georgia Bulldogs were chosen Saturday on the final day of the 2020 NFL Draft, totaling seven selections this year to tie last year's program record and 21 in the Kirby Smart era.
Junior offensive lineman Solomon Kindley became the third Georgia offensive lineman selected in the draft, joining tackles Andrew Thomas (No. 4 overall, New York Giants) and Isaiah Wilson (No. 29 overall, Tennessee Titans).
Junior quarterback Jake Fromm was chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round, becoming the sixth Georgia quarterback selected since 2001 (tied-3rd among schools). Senior tight end Charlie Woerner was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round Saturday.
Senior linebacker Tae Crowder was the final selection of the 2020 Draft by the New York Giants, joining 1985 draftee Donald Chumley (father of Georgia kicker Noah Chumley) as the second Bulldog to earn the 'Mr. Irrelevant' distinction. Crowder and Thomas join Lorenzo Carter (2018) and Deandre Baker (2019) on the Giants' roster.
With the fifth pick in the fourth round, the Miami Dolphins selected Kindley to bolster their offensive line. Kindley becomes the ninth Bulldog to be selected by the Dolphins franchise, the first pick since Arthur Lynch in 2014.
“To be honest, I can play either side of the guard. I can play any way the coaches need me to. I’m going to be a player to come in and wherever the coach needs me to go play at, that’s where I’m going to go play at,” Kindley said in a teleconference with Dolphins media.
Kindley, a Florida native from Jacksonville with family from Miami, was the first offensive lineman to commit to head coach Kirby Smart and former offensive line coach Sam Pittman in the class of 2016. An unranked three-star recruit, Kindley developed into a three-year starter at offensive guard for three-straight SEC East Division champion teams.
The list of Dolphins draftees from UGA also features safety Reshad Jones and tight end Randy McMichael, as well as UGA teammates defensive back Jake Scott and defensive lineman Bill Stanfill, who won back-to-back Super Bowls together in Miami in the early 1970s.
In the mid-fifth round, Buffalo tabbed Fromm to join their squad that went 10-6 and reached the playoffs in 2019. Fromm becomes the seventh Georgia player selected by the Bills franchise and the first since OL Cordy Glenn in 2012.
Fromm, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., started 42 of 43 games at the helm of the Georgia offense from 2017-19. He led the Bulldogs to three-straight SEC East Division titles, including the 2017 SEC title and the 2018 CFP Championship Game as a true freshman. He was named to the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and was a three-time Academic All-SEC honoree.
“Every quarterback wants to be the starter and for me, I’ve been extremely blessed. Wherever I’ve been, I’ve played in every single game that I’ve dressed out ... All I know is to stay humble and hungry and go in and make that [QB] room better in any way that I can,” Fromm said in a teleconference with Bills media.
Fromm’s 78 career TD passes put him in second place on UGA’s all-time list behind Aaron Murray and his 8,224 career passing yards rank fourth in program history. He also ranks 4th and 5th, respectively, on UGA's lists of career completions (621) and attempts (982).
Of note, director of player development Jonas Jennings was also picked by the Bills in 2001. Fromm joins wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie—who is entering his third season in Buffalo and was Smart’s first NFL Draft selection at Georgia.
Later on in the sixth round, the reigning NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers picked up tight end Charlie Woerner. He becomes the 15th Bulldog to be drafted by the 49ers, but only the second in the last 30 years alongside OL John Theus in 2016.
Woerner, who arrived at Georgia from Tiger, Ga., started games in each of his four seasons in Athens and played in 54 of 56 games. In 2019, he started all 14 games and sported an 83.0 run blocking grade (Pro Football Focus), fourth among collegiate tight ends with at least 100 snaps. He finished his career with 34 catches for 376 yards.
Crowder, a native of Pine Mountain, Ga., was hardly 'irrelevant' on the field for Georgia. He started all 14 games in 2019 and led the Bulldog defense to the No. 1 national ranking in Scoring Defense (12.6 ppg—school record for few points allowed in 12+ game season).
Additionally, Crowder was named a semifinalist for the 2019 Butkus Award and finished with 122 total tackles in his Georgia career, with 10 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups and two interceptions. He becomes the 14th Bulldog taken by the Giants in the draft.
The NY Giants select Tae Crowder with the final overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
This is the second time a UGA player has been taken with the final selection of the NFL Draft. According to UGA, DL Donald Chumley was the last player picked in the 1985 NFL Draft - No. 336 which at that time was a 12-round draft - by the 49ers. Chumley went on to become a high school head coach at Savannah Christian where his team won a Class A state championship in 2011.