Mock Draft Roundup: Where might Georgia players land in 2024 NFL Draft?

Mock draft season is here, and with the NFL playoffs continuing to wrap up, the order for the 2024 NFL Draft is taking shape. Only four teams to remain, meaning 28 spots are settled. Regardless of who’s picking where though, several Georgia Bulldogs are considered top prospects.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah are two of the most respected in the business when it comes to projecting the draft. Each released a first version of a mock draft recently, and DawgsHQ has compiled for you what they believe the possible landing spots for your Bulldogs might be.

Mel Kiper 1.0 (1/23/24)

Brock Bowers is expected to be the first UGA player off the board, but because of his position, it’s tough to project exactly when that might be. He’s without a doubt one of the top players – and might have a case for the player that has separated himself from the field most at his respective position. However, with the way the NFL values tight ends, it’s not necessarily a position you oftentimes see projected highly. Kiper disagrees, sending Bowers back to his home state of California with recently hired head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5.

Kiper writes: Edge rusher? Cornerback? Offensive line? Wide receiver (again)? The Chargers have big questions and still haven’t hired a new general manager or coach. This prediction is a shot in the dark until they figure out who’s making the decisions. While I could see any of those positions being addressed here, I’m going with a fit I really like based on a different potential need. Gerald Everett caught 51 passes in 2023, but he averaged just 8.1 yards per reception. L.A. really has to add a playmaker at the tight end position. With Everett hitting free agency, there’s a hole for Bowers, who is spectacular after the catch, to fill. He had 26 touchdown catches over three college seasons, showing a stellar ability to stretch the seams. Justin Herbert hasn’t had a pass-catcher like Bowers since he entered the league in 2020.

If you’re watching the draft, you might have to wait a little longer than in year’s past for the second Georgia player. There’s not necessarily a clear cut first rounder out there that has declared from the Bulldogs’ roster, but there are several fringe guys that could fit a team’s needs. That’s exactly what Kiper projects happening at No. 20 as the Pittsburgh Steelers take a UGA player in the first round for a second straight year – and player out of Athens for a third consecutive draft. This time, it’s Kamari Lassiter.

Kiper writes: Sure, the Steelers hit on cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the top pick of Round 2 a year ago, but this is a defense that saw 33-year-old corner Patrick Peterson play more than 1,000 snaps, so there’s room for an injection of youth at the position. Lassiter emerged as a lockdown corner for the Bulldogs in 2023, though he had just one career interception, which came all the way back in 2021. Still, he allowed a total of nine receptions for 91 yards as the nearest defender in coverage, and none of those passes went for scores. He could form an elite duo with Porter.

Of course the order hasn’t been finalized yet, and who picks at No. 29, 30, 31 and 32 will be set based on the outcome of this weekend’s games. However, Kiper has it laid out with the San Francisco 49ers winning the Super Bowl – and thus picking last in the first round, where he’s got another Georgia player off the board: Amarius Mims. If Kiper’s projections are correct, it would be the third straight year for Georgia with three or more first round picks, dating back to a 2022 NFL Draft that saw five go on the first night and 15 drafted in total.

Kiper writes: This makes eight offensive tackles in my first mock for the 2024 class, 25% of the entire first round. That would be the most since the 2008 draft when there were also eight in the top 32 (including the No. 1 overall pick). The 49ers have an obvious need at right tackle, as starter Colton McKivitz allowed 11 sacks in the regular season. They need to upgrade in a deep and talented class. There’s some risk with taking Mims, as he started only eight games in college because of injuries and NFL picks in front of him on the Georgia depth chart. But his ceiling is incredibly high; at 6-foot-7, 340 pounds, he has the traits to be a future Pro Bowler if he can put it all together. Mims didn’t allow a single sack in 372 career pass-blocking snaps.

Daniel Jeremiah 1.0 (1/21/23)

Jeremiah is on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to Bowers’ draft position, but he’s not afraid to admit it. Whereas Kiper has him going early, Jeremiah has him at No. 15 to the Indianapolis Colts. That creates a shorter window between Bulldogs drafted however as he follows suit with the Steelers taking a Georgia player in the first round for a second straight season. In his mind however, it’s Mims.

Jeremiah on Bowers: Bowers is going to be tricky to place in mock drafts. The talent suggests he should be a top-five pick, but the debate about positional value could push him down as far as the Colts at No. 15.

Jeremiah on Mims: The Steelers go back to Georgia after selecting Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington last year and George Pickens in 2022. Mims would join Jones to give Pittsburgh a pair of athletic bookends with prototypical size.

More Mocks…

Bucky Brooks (NFL) 1/22/24: Brock Bowers (Los Angeles Chargers – No. 5), Amarius Mims (Pittsburgh Steelers – No. 20)
Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports) 1/24/24: Brock Bowers (New Orleans Saints – No. 14), Amarius Mims (Jacksonville Jaguars – No. 17), Kamari Lassiter (Buffalo Bills – No. 28)

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports) 1/24/24: Brock Bowers (Los Angeles Chargers – No. 5), Amarius Mims (Houston Texans – No. 23), Kamari Lassiter (Green Bay Packers – No. 25)
Luke Easterling (FanNation) 1/25/24: Brock Bowers (Denver Broncos – No. 12), Amarius Mims (Pittsburgh Steelers – No. 20), Kamari Lassiter (Los Angeles Chargers – No. 37), Sedrick Van Pran (Pittsburgh Steelers – No. 51), Ladd McConkey (New England Patriots – No. 68), Javon Bullard (New York Jets – No. 72)

Dane Brugler (The Athletic) 1/16/24: Brock Bowers (Los Angeles Chargers – No. 5), Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals – No. 18), Kamari Lassiter (Tennessee Titans – No. 38), Javon Bullard (New York Giants from Seattle – No. 47), Ladd McConkey (Cincinnati Bengals – No. 49)
Jordan Reid (ESPN) 1/10/24: Brock Bowers (Indianapolis Colts – No. 15), Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals – No. 18)

Nick Baumgardner (The Athletic) 1/10/24: Brock Bowers (Tennessee Titans – No. 7), Amarius Mims (Houston Texans from Denver- No. 12)
Brentley Weissman (The Draft Network) 1/21/24: Brock Bowers (Chicago Bears – No. 9), Amarius Mims (San Francisco 49ers – No. 31)

Ryan Fowler (The Draft Network) 1/14/24: Amarius Mims (Chicago Bears – No. 9), Brock Bowers (New York Jets – No. 10)
Joe Broback (Pro Football Network) 1/18/24: Brock Bowers (Cincinnati Bengals – No. 18), Kamari Lassiter (Detroit Lions – No. 30), Amarius Mims (San Francisco 49ers – No. 31)
Connor Rogers (NBC Sports) 1/11/24: Brock Bowers (Indianapolis Colts – No. 15), Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals – No. 18)