Georgia arguably has been the most successful college football program for much of the past decade, with three SEC titles and two national championships since 2017.
The Bulldogs‘ success under coach Kirby Smart has gone beyond what his players have done in college.
Under Smart, the former Nick Saban protege, Georgia has become a factory for NFL talent, with key pieces from conference and national championship teams making their way to the next level of the sport. Just ask the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who had seven Georgia players on their roster, what the Bulldogs are capable of achieving.
Though Georgia’s 2024 team fell short of its biggest goals — falling in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff to Notre Dame — it had plenty of talent, with several of those players now preparing to suit up on Sundays.
The 2025 NFL draft gets started with Thursday night’s first round at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Bulldogs, as they have so many times in recent years, will figure prominently in the spectacle, with nearly 15 former Georgia players projected to hear their names called over the course of the seven-round draft.
Who from last year’s Georgia team is about to see a lifelong dream become a reality? And where will they be beginning their NFL journeys?
Here’s a look at where Georgia players are projected to end up in the 2025 NFL draft:
Georgia football players in 2025 NFL mock drafts
LB Jalon Walker: Round 1, No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers
The latest 2025 NFL mock draft from USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has Walker going No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers after a stellar 2024 season in which he earned first-team All-American honors.
Of Walker, Middlehurst-Schwartz writes:
“Walker remained a fixture in this spot since the top of the draft order was first set, and it’s hard to find a better alternative for Carolina. Ejiro Evero’s defense is due for a true difference-maker beyond Derrick Brown, and Walker can deliver plenty of disruption as an edge rusher as he rounds out other parts of his game.”
DE Mykel Williams: Round 1, No. 23 overall to the Green Bay Packers
Fifteen picks later, Middlehurst-Schwartz has Williams off the board to the Packers, with Williams hearing his name called inside the stadium he’d start playing in September.
Middlehurst-Schwartz writes of Williams:
“Lukas Van Ness has yet to make a serious jump in the two years after he became a first-round pick, so in comes another pass rusher defined more by his potential than his production. The 6-5, 260-pound Williams looks the part of a Brian Gutekunst selection, and Green Bay could get another crack at maximizing the disruptiveness of an explosive athlete with a formidable bull rush.”
S Malaki Starks: Round 1, No. 27 overall to the Baltimore Ravens
Starks gives the Bulldogs three first-round picks in the mock draft, with the All-American safety going off the board to the Ravens. There, he’d get to play alongside Baltimore All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.
Of the potential pairing of player and team, Middlehurst-Schwartz writes:
“Looks like a Raven, plays like a Raven, feels like a Raven. Starks is a heady leader on the back end with an extensive playmaking track record. If he can properly harness his aggressiveness and not let it leave him susceptible to big breakdowns in coverage, he could team with Kyle Hamilton to give Baltimore an imposing tandem at safety.”
Other Georgia players eligible for 2025 NFL draft
Led by three first-rounders, here’s a look at the Georgia football players who appeared in the seven-round NFL mock draft from Dane Brugler of The Athletic:
- LB Jalon Walker: Round 1 to the Carolina Panthers (No. 8 overall)
- DE Mykel Williams: Round 1 to the Arizona Cardinals (No. 16 overall)
- S Malaki Starks: Round 1 to the Buffalo Bills (No. 30 overall)
- G Tate Ratledge: Round 2 to the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 64 overall)
- C Jared Wilson: Round 3 to the New England Patriots (No. 69 overall)
- LB Smael Mondon Jr.: Round 3 to the Indianapolis Colts (No. 80 overall)
- G Dylan Fairchild: Round 3 to the Minnesota Vikings (No. 97 overall)
- RB Trevor Etienne: Round 4 to the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 119 overall)
- DT Warren Brinson: Round 5 to the Minnesota Vikings (No. 139 overall)
- DE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: Round 5 to the Miami Dolphins (No. 150 overall)
- WR Arian Smith: Round 5 to the New York Giants (No. 154 overall)
- DT Nazir Stackhouse: Round 6 to the Detroit Lions (No. 196 overall)
Most Georgia players selected in NFL draft
If Brugler’s projections become reality, Georgia will have 12 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
Should that happen, it would be the second-most Bulldogs ever taken in one year since the NFL moved to a seven-round draft in 1994. It would be behind only Georgia’s draft haul in 2022, when a record 15 Bulldogs from the program’s 2021 national championship team heard their names called.
Here’s a look at the most Georgia players selected in a single NFL draft under the seven-round format:
- 15: 2022
- 10: 2023
- 9: 2021
- 8: 2002, 2013, 2024
- 7: 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2019
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: NFL mock draft 2025: Landing spots for Georgia football prospects
Georgia arguably has been the most successful college football program for much of the past decade, with three SEC titles and two national championships since 2017.
The Bulldogs‘ success under coach Kirby Smart has gone beyond what his players have done in college.
Under Smart, the former Nick Saban protege, Georgia has become a factory for NFL talent, with key pieces from conference and national championship teams making their way to the next level of the sport. Just ask the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who had seven Georgia players on their roster, what the Bulldogs are capable of achieving.
Though Georgia’s 2024 team fell short of its biggest goals — falling in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff to Notre Dame — it had plenty of talent, with several of those players now preparing to suit up on Sundays.
The 2025 NFL draft gets started with Thursday night’s first round at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Bulldogs, as they have so many times in recent years, will figure prominently in the spectacle, with nearly 15 former Georgia players projected to hear their names called over the course of the seven-round draft.
Who from last year’s Georgia team is about to see a lifelong dream become a reality? And where will they be beginning their NFL journeys?
Here’s a look at where Georgia players are projected to end up in the 2025 NFL draft:
Georgia football players in 2025 NFL mock drafts
LB Jalon Walker: Round 1, No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers
The latest 2025 NFL mock draft from USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has Walker going No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers after a stellar 2024 season in which he earned first-team All-American honors.
Of Walker, Middlehurst-Schwartz writes:
“Walker remained a fixture in this spot since the top of the draft order was first set, and it’s hard to find a better alternative for Carolina. Ejiro Evero’s defense is due for a true difference-maker beyond Derrick Brown, and Walker can deliver plenty of disruption as an edge rusher as he rounds out other parts of his game.”
DE Mykel Williams: Round 1, No. 23 overall to the Green Bay Packers
Fifteen picks later, Middlehurst-Schwartz has Williams off the board to the Packers, with Williams hearing his name called inside the stadium he’d start playing in September.
Middlehurst-Schwartz writes of Williams:
“Lukas Van Ness has yet to make a serious jump in the two years after he became a first-round pick, so in comes another pass rusher defined more by his potential than his production. The 6-5, 260-pound Williams looks the part of a Brian Gutekunst selection, and Green Bay could get another crack at maximizing the disruptiveness of an explosive athlete with a formidable bull rush.”
S Malaki Starks: Round 1, No. 27 overall to the Baltimore Ravens
Starks gives the Bulldogs three first-round picks in the mock draft, with the All-American safety going off the board to the Ravens. There, he’d get to play alongside Baltimore All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.
Of the potential pairing of player and team, Middlehurst-Schwartz writes:
“Looks like a Raven, plays like a Raven, feels like a Raven. Starks is a heady leader on the back end with an extensive playmaking track record. If he can properly harness his aggressiveness and not let it leave him susceptible to big breakdowns in coverage, he could team with Kyle Hamilton to give Baltimore an imposing tandem at safety.”
Other Georgia players eligible for 2025 NFL draft
Led by three first-rounders, here’s a look at the Georgia football players who appeared in the seven-round NFL mock draft from Dane Brugler of The Athletic:
- LB Jalon Walker: Round 1 to the Carolina Panthers (No. 8 overall)
- DE Mykel Williams: Round 1 to the Arizona Cardinals (No. 16 overall)
- S Malaki Starks: Round 1 to the Buffalo Bills (No. 30 overall)
- G Tate Ratledge: Round 2 to the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 64 overall)
- C Jared Wilson: Round 3 to the New England Patriots (No. 69 overall)
- LB Smael Mondon Jr.: Round 3 to the Indianapolis Colts (No. 80 overall)
- G Dylan Fairchild: Round 3 to the Minnesota Vikings (No. 97 overall)
- RB Trevor Etienne: Round 4 to the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 119 overall)
- DT Warren Brinson: Round 5 to the Minnesota Vikings (No. 139 overall)
- DE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: Round 5 to the Miami Dolphins (No. 150 overall)
- WR Arian Smith: Round 5 to the New York Giants (No. 154 overall)
- DT Nazir Stackhouse: Round 6 to the Detroit Lions (No. 196 overall)
Most Georgia players selected in NFL draft
If Brugler’s projections become reality, Georgia will have 12 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
Should that happen, it would be the second-most Bulldogs ever taken in one year since the NFL moved to a seven-round draft in 1994. It would be behind only Georgia’s draft haul in 2022, when a record 15 Bulldogs from the program’s 2021 national championship team heard their names called.
Here’s a look at the most Georgia players selected in a single NFL draft under the seven-round format:
- 15: 2022
- 10: 2023
- 9: 2021
- 8: 2002, 2013, 2024
- 7: 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2019
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: NFL mock draft 2025: Landing spots for Georgia football prospects
