georgia football 2023 NFL Draft first round espn

With the Senior Bowl complete, a fresh round of mock drafts have dropped. ESPN’s Matt Miller released a two-round mock draft, sharing his thoughts on where the top players in this year’s draft cycle will land.

Georgia is expected to be well represented once again in the first round, with Miller projecting four Bulldogs to come off the board in the first round.

The first Bulldog expected to be drafted is Jalen Carter. Miller has the powerful defensive lineman ending up with the Chicago Bears after the Bears traded out of the No. 1 spot and end up picking at No. 4.

Carter had 32 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks last season for Georgia. His numbers were somewhat dulled as he battled injury during the first half of the season, but Carter was perhaps the best player in the sport following his return to action against Florida on Oct. 29.

Georgia had the first defensive lineman taken in last year’s NFL draft, as Jacksonville Jaguars selected Travon Walker with the No. 1 overall pick.

Next off the board for the Bulldogs is Broderick Jones at pick No. 11. Miller has Jones landing with the Titans.

“Jones is a physical, tough offensive tackle who has quick, light feet and the potential to become better shooting his hands,” Miller wrote. “At 6-4 and 311 pounds, there will be questions about his length, but Jones was an elite left tackle in the SEC and is just 21 years old. He didn’t allow a single sack across 15 starts in 2022.”

Jones would be the fourth Georgia offensive tackle taken in the first round since Smart became the program’s head coach, as Jones would join Isaiah Wynn, Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson.

The next selection of a Georgia player was a surprising one in Nolan Smith. He missed the second half of the season with a torn pectoral, but he is expected to be healthy to start training camp. Miller has the Los Angeles Chargers picking Smith with the No. 21 overall pick.

In addition to his abilities as an edge rusher, Smith was also a key leader for the Bulldogs. Even while injured, he was constantly pumping up teammates on the sidelines of Georgia’s championship run.

“Of our captains, he was the leading vote-getter,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the national championship win. “It tells you that everybody respected him. And he was not playing. And he was going to check out and go train and go work out. I said, Nolan, it will be the greatest mistake of your life if you leave right now and don’t finish this because people will remember how you finished.

“Whether we win or lose is irrelevant. But the rest of your life you will be remembered, were you a captain, were you there for everybody? Did you stand by this team? Did you impact them in a way without being on the field? Because NFL teams will value someone who can impact their team when they’re not playing.”

The final pick of the first round is yet to be decided, as it will be determined by the winner of Sunday’s Super Bowl. Miller expects that to be the Eagles, who are favored over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles took Jordan Davis in the first round last year and Miller has them taking another jumbo playmaker in the 2023 NFL Draft in Darnell Washington.

Washington is one of the more unique players in the draft given his 6-foot-7, 280-pound frame. Washington’s blocking and pass-catching abilities make him a player that has a very high upside.

Miller had just one Bulldog coming off the board in the second round, as he expects cornerback Kelee Ringo to fall all the way to the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 60 overall pick. Ringo has become a polarizing draft pick in the NFL mock draft community. While some love his traits, there are questions based on his play this past season at Georgia. Ringo did have two interceptions, picking off Kentucky’s Will Levis and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to be held in Kansas City. The first round will take place on April 27.

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