ATHENS - Georgia’s NFL pipeline has been running hot for years, and under Kirby Smart it has reached a different level entirely.
The Bulldogs have produced 84 NFL Draft picks during Smart’s run, and 21 of those have gone in the first round. That kind of volume is hard to miss, but the bigger story is how Georgia’s pro footprint has stretched across the league - and how quickly some of Smart’s players are climbing.
A recent Pro Football Focus feature on each NFL franchise’s best players over the past 20 years leaned heavily on Georgia’s Mark Richt era, which makes sense. Richt coached the Bulldogs from 2001-2015, and his players have simply had more time to build NFL résumés. Still, the list shows just how deep Georgia’s talent pool has been for two decades.
Among the former Bulldogs PFF highlighted were quarterback Matthew Stafford, who appeared for both Detroit and the L.A. Rams; Leonard Floyd, who made the cut with both Chicago and the Rams; and a long line of Georgia standouts including Andrew Thomas, Jalen Carter, David Andrews, A.J. Green, Gino Atkins, Nick Chubb, Champ Bailey, Richard Seymour, Justin Houston, Charles Johnson and Thomas Davis Sr.
That group reflects the reality of the league right now: Smart’s players are already drawing bigger paychecks than most of the Richt-era names, with Stafford the lone exception as the all-time NFL earner.
And the list is only going to keep changing. Brock Bowers, just two seasons into his NFL career with Las Vegas, already looks like the kind of player who could wind up as the best tight end in franchise history.
Jordan Davis, a former first-round pick by Philadelphia, is another name with that kind of ceiling. Buffalo’s James Cook led the NFL in rushing last season, while linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker are now in Las Vegas and emerging.
The numbers behind Smart’s draft haul tell the same story. Sixty-three of those Bulldogs have been selected in the past six years alone, including:
2021: 9 draft picks, with Eric Stokes going 29th in the first round.
2022: 15 draft picks, an NFL record for one college team in a draft, with first-rounders Travon Walker (1st), Jordan Davis (13th), Quay Walker (22nd), Devonte Wyatt (28th) and Lewis Cine (32nd).
2023: 10 draft picks, including first-rounders Jalen Carter (9th), Broderick Jones (14th) and Nolan Smith (30th).
2024: 8 draft picks, with Brock Bowers (13th) and Amarius Mims (18th) going in the first round.
2025: 13 draft picks, led by first-rounders Mykel Williams (11th), Jalon Walker (15th) and Malaki Starks (27th).
2026: 8 draft picks, with Monroe Freeling going 19th in the first round.
In Other News...
Georgia May Finally Have Its Answer In A Thin Receiver Room
London Humphreys enters the 2026 season in a very different spot than he occupied a year ago. After Georgias receiver room was stripped down by departures, he is the most experienced returning wideout on the roster and the one player left who has already shown he can stretch the field. The Bulldogs have spent the offseason looking for pass-catching answers, and Humphreys has the kind of track record that makes him the obvious candidate to absorb a much bigger share of the offense.
What gives that possibility some real weight is the way he has already flashed in key moments and the growing comfort he has built with Gunner Stockton. Georgia does not need him to become a volume monster to matter, but it does need someone who can turn a thin group into a functional one, and Humphreys is now the clearest path to that. If those flashes start showing up every week instead of once in a while, the Bulldogs may finally have the answer they have been searching for. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Can't Believe Who's Missing From EA Sports College Football
The latest EA Sports College Football release has plenty for Georgia fans to dig into, but one of the first things they noticed was a missing name in the Bulldogs quarterback room. Instead of seeing Gunner Stockton in the game, players are finding a generic stand-in after EA Sports moved on without his image and likeness for this edition.
What makes it a little more interesting is that the door may not be completely closed. There is still some uncertainty about whether Stockton could opt back in after the initial deadline, which has fans wondering if the games roster might not stay this way for long. For now, though, Georgia supporters are left with a strange version of their team and a familiar offseason reminder of how messy the NIL side of these releases can be. [Read more 🡒]