At long last, the 2023 NFL Draft is finally upon us. The first round is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET, with the Carolina Panthers picking first overall.

Unlike last year, a Georgia Bulldog is not expected to go first overall. It seems Bryce Young will be the No. 1 player taken in this year’s draft class.

But a few top Georgia football players won’t have to wait long to hear their names called. Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network and Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN all see three Bulldogs being taken in the first round of this year’s draft.

The first Bulldog likely to be taken is Jalen Carter. Jeremiah and Kiper both had the Seattle Seahawks drafting the defensive tackle with the No. 5 pick in the draft. McShay has Carter falling a bit to the Chicago Bears with the No. 9 overall pick.

“Half of the league sources I talk to think Carter will be the pick here, while the other half has told me there’s no chance he’ll be Seattle’s selection at No. 5,” Jeremiah wrote of Carter. “I don’t know what to believe, but he would be a great fit in Pete Carroll’s defense.”

Up next, all three think it will be Nolan Smith off the board. This time, it’s Jeremiah and McShay who agree on Smith’s landing spot. They both see the Philadelphia Eagles taking Smith with the No. 10 overall pick.

Kiper meanwhile has Smith falling to the New England Patriots with pick No. 14. The Eagles took two defensive Bulldogs in last year’s draft, as they grabbed Jordan Davis in the first round and Nakobe Dean in the third.

Georgia fans would be pretty happy if the trio were reunited in Philadelphia.

“I ultimately went with Smith, who has terrific speed and suddenness off the edge,” McShay said. “He actually reminds me quite a bit of Haason Reddick, who turned in 16 sacks for Philadelphia last season. With the defensive line aging, Smith could have an immediate impact both as a pass-rusher and run defender.”

The third Bulldog expected to be drafted on Thursday is offensive tackle Broderick Jones. All three have Jones inside their top 20, but each has him landing in a different spot. Jeremiah sees the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Jones with the No. 17 pick. McShay has the New York Jets selecting the offensive tackle with the No. 15 pick.

Kiper has Jones getting drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 19 pick.

“I expect the Bucs to be in the tackle market, and they could take the best available guy here,” Kiper said. “Tristan Wirfs could move from right to left tackle, opening up a void on the right side. Jones was outstanding for the national champs last season.”

Georgia had five players taken in the first round of last year’s NFL draft. Georgia could in theory get there again, as Kelee Ringo and Darnell Washington are both fringe first-round candidates. Jeremiah, McShay and Kiper all have them going in the second round though.

The Bulldogs would be tied with Ohio State and Alabama for the most first-round selections, as each school is expected to have three players taken in the first round.

The NFL draft begins at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on either ESPN or the NFL Network.

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