Georgia trio projected in top 20 in Daniel Jeremiah mock draft

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com shared an updated mock draft on Tuesday, the second of the day from draft experts after ESPN’s Mel Kiper did so earlier as well. Kiper had four Georgia players picked in the first round while Jeremiah only has three.

Going No. 5 overall in Jeremiah’s projection is defensive lineman Jalen Carter. Off field concerns – plus the desire of teams to draft a quarterback – have seemingly knocked him down and out of consideration for the top overall selection, but Jeremiah doesn’t have him making it past the Seattle Seahawks.

The off-field concerns with Carter have been documented. On the field, he is the most talented player in this draft class and would provide Pete Carroll’s defense with a dynamic interior disruptor. – Jeremiah

Carter finished up his Georgia career by being named an unanimous All-American in 2022, one of just 13 in program history. However, as just about everybody knows, his off-field matters have distracted from that ability on the field. Carter totaled 32 tackles on the season including 7.0 for loss, all of which came in a five game stretch after returning to full strength from a few injuries that bothered him early in the year. He was named Bednarik Player of the Week in November after a strong performance against then-No. 1 Tennessee with two sacks and two forced fumbles. Carter followed that up with a career-high seven stops in Georgia’s SEC East clinching victory over Mississippi State. There’s no denying how talented of a player Carter is, but his draft position will rely heavily upon what teams think of him off the field.

The next Georgia player comes off the board at No. 13 to the New York Jets. This is a landing spot we’ve seen Broderick Jones plenty before, but instead, Jeremiah has the nod going to Nolan Smith.

The Jets will likely lose Bryce Huff after next season and Carl Lawson is a potential salary cap casualty. Smith is the most explosive edge rusher in the draft. – Jeremiah

After a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, Smith has jumped up the rankings. In the preseason, he was in this kind of a spot. Same goes for about halfway through the year, but a torn pectoral muscle in Georgia’s eighth game of the year knocked him down – on top of already being a little bit of an undersized EDGE rusher. Smith had seven tackles for loss in eight games. His 2021 season was strong too on an outstanding defense. But those concerns were enough to knock him down. A dominant day in Indianapolis has him right back in the thick of things.

Jones doesn’t fall far past that No. 13 spot. And in fact, he might be ending up with a better organization than the Jets, being taken at No. 17 by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he would join forces with George Pickens once again. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was present at Georgia’s Pro Day last week.

This would be a dream scenario for the Steelers as they continue to overhaul their offensive line this offseason. – Jeremiah

Jones started all 15 games for Georgia in 2022, making the transition from Jamaree Salyer to Jones at left tackle an issue put on the back burner for the Bulldogs. Jones also started four games in 2021 in place of an injured Salyer and played significant portions of both the Auburn game on the road and the National Championship at left tackle.

Guys like Darnell Washington and Kelee Ringo are left out of this projection from Jeremiah. They are two others of the 13 overall draft prospects that Georgia has in 2023. 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 also hope to hear their name during the draft, set for April 27-29 in Kansas City.