Georgia Football: Five Bulldogs in Todd McShay's latest look at 2023 NFL Draft

ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest look at the 2023 NFL Draft on Tuesday, and it’s a deeper dive than he had done before in this cycle. McShay goes two rounds – 63 picks in total – with projected trades included in there too, and has five Georgia Bulldogs coming off the board.

Not too surprisingly, the first of those would be Jalen Carter. After news surfaced on Monday that the defensive lineman and his agent are refusing to meet with teams outside the top 10, McShay has him landing in a spot many do – No. 5 to the Seattle Seahawks.

“Seattle would be in an interesting spot here, and GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll would have some difficult questions to answer,” McShay says. “How high are they on Levis, and could they take advantage of the draft slot by selecting a quarterback of the future? Does Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson make sense, considering edge rushing is the team’s biggest need? How does having the No. 20 pick impact what they do here, with Anderson being the only non-QB off the board?

“But perhaps the biggest question is where they stand on Carter, who is probably the most talented player in the class but has some off-field concerns. He pled no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing after an arrest during combine week and is coming off a disappointing pro day in which he showed up out of shape. The Seahawks signed Dre’Mont Jones, but Carter could really change this defensive line with his game-breaking quickness and power on the interior. They just have to be comfortable with their homework.”

As McShay and others have said before, Carter is an incredible player, probably the best available in the entire draft. He finished up his Georgia career as a big piece of back to back National Championship winning defense. After 37 tackles in 2021 including 8.5 for loss, Carter followed it up with 32 in 13 games, several of which were limited by injury, in 2022. He was named an unanimous All-American, just the 13th in program history, and a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman. However, for Carter his draft stock will come down to the off-field evaluations teams make on him.

One player that same thing can’t be said for is outside linebacker Nolan Smith. He blew up at the NFL Combine, really impressing folks throughout Indianapolis with his interview ability before dominating during on-field drills. Smith ran a sub-4.4 40 (4.39) and jumped higher than 40 inches on the vertical (41.5), becoming the heaviest player in Combine history. That answered any questions there were about his health after a torn pectoral muscle ended his senior season eight games in. As a result, Smith was among the biggest risers and now finds himself in just about every first round projection, going No. 12 to the Houston Texans according to McShay.

“If Smith-Njigba were still on the board, I would have projected him as the pick. I already mentioned that Houston is seeking pass-catchers for its new QB (Young in this scenario). But let’s not discount how bad the defense was last season,” McShay wrote. “It gave up 5.7 yards per play (26th) and was 27th in ESPN’s defensive efficiency rating. Smith is a great fit here because he can get after the quarterback as an edge rusher on passing downs or drop into an off-the-ball role on early downs. A torn right pectoral limited him to eight games last season, but his explosion was on full display at the combine; he ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at 238 pounds and jumped 41.5 inches in the vertical. He will be even more effective off the edge once he expands his pass-rush move arsenal, too.”

Smith was the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2019 when he signed with Georgia. Sharing the outside linebacker room his first two seasons with the likes of Azeez Ojulari, Jermaine Johnson and Adam Anderson, Smith totaled a combined 40 tackles. However, in 2021, he finished top five on the team with 56 stops including nine for loss on the way to the National Championship, the Bulldogs’ first in 41 years. Smith got off to a great start in 2022 too, recording seven tackles for loss including three sacks in the first eight games. He suffered a torn right pectoral muscle though in that eighth game and missed the rest of the season.

Broderick Jones is the third Bulldog off the board according to McShay, and it happens with the No. 17 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin was in Athens to watch Jones and other Georgia players go through Pro Day. Jones said that he and the Steelers enjoyed great conversations. This one is being projected more and more, giving another Georgia player to George Pickens and Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh brought in Isaac Seumalo this March to shore up the interior offensive line, but there are still questions at offensive tackle. And protection is key when you have a young QB running the offense,” McShay said. “Jones allowed zero sacks over 15 starts last season, showcasing quick feet and explosive upper-body power for the national champion Bulldogs, and he’d be a good value get at this point in the draft. Jones would also help open lanes for Najee Harris in the run game.”

Jones might not be the most polished product of the available offensive linemen in this year’s draft. After all, he only started one full season at Georgia – taking over the spot left empty by Jamaree Salyer in 2022. But with Jones, it’s his athleticism and upside that folks see, something that McShay’s ESPN partner Mel Kiper described as an offensive line coach’s dream.

That’s it for Georgia players in the first round, a consensus that’s starting to form. As for others that see their names in McShay’s mock draft, Kelee Ringo and Darnell Washington both have had first round projections at some point during the process, but both Bulldogs will have to wait until Day 2 to hear their names according to this prediction.

On Ringo (No. 36 – Los Angeles Rams): The Rams are on the board here for the first time, and after they dealt away Jalen Ramsey, there’s a gaping hole at cornerback. Ringo has speed for days, but he still has to work on his recognition skills in coverage. He picked off four passes and broke up 18 over two seasons at Georgia.

On Washington (No. 40 – New Orleans Saints): If you like tight ends with a lot of traits, Washington is your guy this year. He played behind Brock Bowers at Georgia, but the 6-foot-7, 264-pounder has a massive catch radius and ran a 4.64 in the 40 at the combine. He’s extremely strong and has long arms and huge hands. The Saints brought back Juwan Johnson, but they still need talented targets for Derek Carr — who often connected with a toolsy tight end in Darren Waller in Las Vegas.

The NFL Draft is set for Thursday, April 27th through Saturday, April 29th in Kansas City. Carter, Smith, Jones, Ringo and Washington are just five of the 13 Georgia players hoping to hear their name called, joined by quarterback Stetson Bennett, running back Kenny McIntosh, wide receiver Kearis Jackson, offensive linemen Warren Ericson and Warren McClendon, outside linebacker Robert Beal, safety Christopher Smith and kicker Jack Podlesny. All three days of the draft can be seen on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network.