Mike Tannenbaum pairs Georgia players in first round of NFL Draft

Former NFL exec – including New York Jets general manager – and current ESPN reporter Mike Tannenbaum released his picks for the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Tuesday. As opposed to the traditional way of going about a mock draft though, going with what you believe will happen based on what you’re hearing, Tannenbaum went the direction of sliding into the seat of a general manager for each team. He clarifies, it’s not what he’s expecting to happen, but if he were in charge, it’s what would happen. Well, to say it was an interesting result would be a little bit of an understatement, but three Georgia players still found their name called in the first round.

The first Bulldog is off the board at No. 10, a pick that the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles hold based on a trade with the New Orleans Saints. Tannenbaum looks at the Eagles and sees a team that’s got the necessary replacements for players that they’ve lost in free agency. As opposed to having to chase to replace, he believes they can build for the future and take a player that might move around on the offensive line as neccessary – Broderick Jones.

Philadelphia remarkably held on to both starting cornerbacks and already has replacements for linebacker T.J. Edwards (Nakobe Dean) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (Jordan Davis). But the Eagles lost two offensive linemen in Andre Dillard and Isaac Seumalo. Jones was nearly flawless last year at Georgia, and he is a plug-and-play guy at guard in Year 1 who could slide out to his natural tackle position when Lane Johnson moves on.

Tannenbaum

Jones started all 15 games for Georgia at left tackle, stepping in after Jamaree Salyer departed for the NFL this time last year. Normally a switch at left tackle would make headlines. The way Jones handled things, it was far from on the front of Georgia fans’ minds in 2022, and based on Tannenbaum’s belief, he could be doing similar things for the Eagles in the future too.

Surprised at no Jalen Carter in the top-10? Well, the easy explanation for that would be his off-field concerns. Carter is without a doubt one of the top players when it comes to on-field talent, but character concerns brought up during his junior year on top of an offseason arrest for reckless driving and racing – plus a subpar showing at Georgia Pro Day – has teams taking a second look. Tannenbaum wouldn’t take him until No. 18 overall.

Detroit performed poorly in a number of defensive categories last year, including bottom-three figures in passing yards against per attempt, rushing yards against per attempt and opponent third-down conversion rate. I got the Lions an edge rusher earlier, but I’m not done building up this defensive line. A team with multiple first-round picks can take a calculated risk. Carter is just that. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing after an arrest during combine week, and he appeared out of shape at his pro day in mid-March. But despite just six sacks over the past two seasons, his talent is on another level, and this could end up a great pick at No. 18.

Tannenbaum

Carter 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.

Making his way back to full strength after a pair of injuries early in the season, Carter earned Bednarik Award Player of the Week for his performance in Georgia’s win over then-top-ranked Tennessee with two sacks and two forced fumbles. He then followed that up with a career-high seven stops in Georgia’s SEC East clinching win at Mississippi State. All seven of Carter’s tackles for loss came in a five game stretch following the injury, starting with the Tennessee game and ending the SEC Championship against LSU.

Last but certainly not least, the third Georgia player off the board comes with the No. 30 overall pick – and once again to the Eagles. After Philadelphia took Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean last season, Tannenbaum would go to direction of Broderick Jones and Nolan Smith this year.

The Eagles retained edge rusher Brandon Graham, but their long-term outlook on the defensive line is murky. Outside of Graham, Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett, the depth has taken a hit. Smith had a injury-shortened 2022 season (torn right pectoral muscle) and is undersized at 238 pounds, but he had an incredible workout at the combine. He ran a 4.39 in the 40 and posted jumps of 41.5 inches (vertical) and 10-foot-8 (broad). Smith would not be asked to start in Philadelphia in 2023, which would give the team a year to add much-needed bulk to Smith’s frame.

Tannenbaum

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.

In his return to the field at the NFL Combine, Smith was outstanding. He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash and jumped 41.5 inches in the vertical, becoming the heaviest player in Combine history to go under 4.4 and over 40 inches. As a result, a player who was slipping down draft boards during the season due to the injury has quickly shot back up into the first round.

The NFL Draft gets underway in less than a month on Thursday, April 27th with the first round. Then, the second and third rounds come your way on Friday while the fourth through seventh rounds take place on Saturday. Coverage of the entire draft from Kansas City can be found on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.