ATHENS — Jalen Carter was everything Philadelphia hoped he would be and more, the defensive steal of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Carter, a former All-American at Georgia who slipped to being the No. 9 pick as a result of well-documented off-field issues, is the favorite to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Stetson Bennett, however, spent the season on the reserve/non-football illness list after the L.A. Rams selected him in the fourth round and groomed him to become Matthew Stafford’s backup.
Rams coach Sean McVay said on Wednesday he doesn’t know if the former Georgia quarterback will be with Los Angeles next season.
No doubt, there are no guarantees in the NFL, as each player makes their own decisions and takes their own path.
Here’s how Georgia’s 2023 NFL rookies worked out:
First Round
No. 9 Jalen Carter, Philadelphia (A+)
Carter had 6 sacks, 18 QB pressures an 2 forced fumbles despite seeing double teams. Carter played 599 snaps on defense and another 64 on special teams.
No. 14 Broderick Jones, Pittsburgh (B-)
Jones played only one game at left tackle before becoming the starting right tackle for the Steelers in Week 9, ranking 62 of 69 “qualifying” tackles in pass block win rate, per ESPN. Jones played 832 offensive snaps and another 63 on the field goal/XP team.
No. 30 Nolan Smith, Philadelphia (C+)
Smith only saw 13 percent of the defensive snaps (203) with the Eagles, per ESPN metrics, and was more of a special teams player. Smith had 95 snaps on kick coverage, 91 on kick return, 52 on punt return and 25 on punt coverage.
Third Round
No. 93 Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh (B)
Washington had only 7 catches for 61 yards in the Steelers’ struggling pass game, playing 532 offensive snaps. Washington also played 86 snaps on kick return and 63 on the FG/XP team.
Fourth Round
No. 105 Kelee Ringo, Philadelphia (B)
Ringo got 201 snaps as primarily a backup cornerback, but he Philly got its money’s worth by using the 2022 CFP Game Defensive MVP all over special teams: kick coverage (95 snaps), FG/XP block (77), Kick return (68), Punt return (64) and Punt coverage (15) .
No. 128 Stetson Bennett, L.A. Rams (I)
Bennett was 36-of-62 passing for 347 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions over the course of the three preseason games he appeared in with the Rams.
Bennett said he was ready to be coached up, “if you tell me what to do, I can do it,” he said, before Los Angeles placed him on the reserve list.
Fifth Round
No. 170 Chris Smith, Las Vegas (C)
Smith played 22 snaps on defense but was used quite a bit on special teams, including 57 plays on kick coverage, 53 plays on kick return, 41 plays on punt return and 35 on the FG/XP block team. Raiders coach Chris Ash said Smith was developing well in December.
No. 173 Robert Beal, San Francisco (C)
Beal injured his hamstring and was placed on injured reserve back on Sept. 7 before being activated Nov. 27. Beal saw limited work the final six games of the season, playing 39 defensive snaps with a sack and 2 QB Hurries. He also had 22 plays on kick coverage along with 9 on punt return, 5 on FG/XP block and 4 on Kick return.
No. 174 Warren McClendon, L.A. Rams (C)
McClendon began his NFL career on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list on account of a knee injury before being activated in July and playing 32 snaps on offense and 21 on the field goal/extra point team.
Seventh Round
No. 237 Kenny McIntosh, Seattle (I)
A preseason knee sprain injury led to McIntosh going on Injured Reserve until he was activated in November. McIntosh was a healthy scratch his first two games back before former coach Pete Caroll indicated he was ready to play him, saying McIntosh “is ready to go, and he needs to be ready to play.” McIntosh suffered a hand injury later in the season that led to him not getting any snaps his rookie year.
