ESPN Has Three Georgia Bulldogs Projected to be Taken in NFL Draft First Round
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ATHENS - Three former UGA Football players are consistently being projected to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft next month.
Kirby Smart has had 17 former players drafted in the NFL’s first round, which is a high honor. Defensive lineman Mykel Williams, linebacker Jalon Walker and safety Malaki Starks are the three that have a really good chance to be next in line.
The NFL Scouting Combine was last week and ESPN analysts have been producing mock drafts for fans’ entertainment as we inch closer to the selection process in about seven weeks. Longtime NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid have both predicted that those three Bulldogs will hear their names called on opening night.
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Kiper released his just as the combine was beginning and Reid released his just a few days ago after the combine, so the two projections come with different perspectives. Out of the three players, Starks is the only one that competed in drills this past weekend. Walker and Williams were both in attendance and underwent measurements, but they did not participate in drills. There is reporting that Walker has suffered a thigh injury, and he is not expected to workout at Georgia’s pro day next week either. Williams is expected to workout next week.
The Carolina Panthers hold the eight overall pick in the draft, and both Kiper and Reid projected a Georgia player to be taken there. Kiper has Walker going there and Reid has Williams being taken by Carolina. One of the two of them being mocked to the Panthers has become pretty common.
Walker seems to have a little bit more range than his counterpart Williams, who has pretty consistently been projected to be taken in the first-10 picks. Reid has the Atlanta Falcons taking Walker at 15th overall. The hometown team has glaring needs on the defensive side of the ball, and the Falcons reportedly only met with defensive players, including Bulldogs, in the early days of the combine meetings. This might be the year that a former Georgia player with high upside is taken early by the team whose practice facility is just over an hour away from Athens.
Starks is the player that is more at risk to not be taken early in the draft. Kiper has him going to the Indianapolis Colts at 14th overall and Reid has him going to the Baltimore Ravens at 27th overall. Starks had a solid showing at the combine, where he hit the fastest top speeds out of the safeties in almost all of the drills that he competed in.
All three of these players have been tabbed as potential first rounders since high school, mostly due to each of their versatility.
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