Mock draft shares look ahead at future Georgia draft prospects

Football season is over. We’re more than a week removed from the Super Bowl and mock drafts now dominate any conversation surrounding the sport. From ESPN to NFL.com and everybody in between, EVERYBODY does one. However, Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus shared a mock draft that’s got a different spin to it, and it’s one that will be of interest to Georgia fans.

Chadwick’s Monday mock eliminates the draft eligibility rules. Instead of just players in their third year or later being able to go pro, Chadwick imagined what a draft with all college players would look like. Taking into consideration the 2022 collegiate rosters and the draft order of 2023, three Georgia players made the first round.

Jalen Carter is considered one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. Unlike the two other Georgia players, he has played his last snap in red and black. Chadwick has him as the third player overall and the first from the 2023 group of players, headed to the Arizona Cardinals.

The first 2023 prospect in this mock, Carter could very easily find himself in Arizona come April. He’s the best defensive tackle prospect since at least Quinnen Williams and will inject some much-needed juice into the Cardinals’ pass-rush unit. The junior was the only interior defensive lineman in college football over the past two seasons to earn 90.0-plus grades as both a pass rusher and a run defender.

Carter finished up his Georgia career by being named an unanimous All-American, one of just 13 in program history, totaling 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. As one of the most talented defenders in the entire country, there’s a chance Carter could go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft come April.

The next two Georgia players picked give us a good idea of what the next few drafts might look like for the Bulldogs. Tight end Brock Bowers is back for his junior season. He’s been outstanding in his first two years on campus and many believe that he would be a top 10 pick if he were eligible to go pro this year. He’s not however and will have to wait until next spring. Chadwick has him off the board at No. 12 though to the Houston Texans.

Now that the Texans have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, selected at No. 2, he’ll need some weapons to throw to. Brock Bowers has the potential to go down as the best tight end in the PFF College era. As a true freshman in 2021, he was the highest-graded and most valuable — per PFF wins above average — Power Five tight end in college football. He was once again the most valuable tight end in the nation this past season and led the position in receiving yards (942), yards after the catch (479) and receiving yards after contact (274).

Bowers is the fifth 2024 draft eligible player behind Caleb Williams (No. 1), Drake Maye (No. 2), Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 6) and Joe Alt (No. 7). He totaled 1,051 yards from scrimmage this past season and 10 touchdowns, building on what was an incredibly impressive freshman season the year before. He caught more passes (63) and took home the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the country while also being up for both the Rotary Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman and the Biletnikoff Award for the top receiver. Bowers finished as Georgia’s leading receiver for a second straight season.

Finally, a freshman this past season, comes Mykel Williams with the last pick in this imaginary first round. Going at No. 32 to the Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs, Williams is one of just five 2025 prospects Chadwick has projected alongside Harold Perkins Jr. (No. 8), Will Johnson (No. 10), Will Campbell (No. 11) and Benjamin Morrison (No. 20).

Aside from Chris Jones, the Chiefs didn’t have an edge defender or interior defensive lineman grade above 70.0. As such, they need to bolster their defensive line. Williams’ 75.9 run-defense grade in his true freshman season ranked fourth among SEC edge defenders and led all FBS true freshmen edge defenders. His six sacks tied for the most among all true freshmen in college football, while his 33 pressures tied for the second most.

Williams was just a freshman this past season but certainly played a big part in the success of Georgia’s defense. A former five-star, the Columbus, Ga. native earned a role right out of the gate and carried that through the entirety of the season. Williams had sacks in each of the last two games with tackles for loss in each of the last five as a part of his 28 total tackle season with 31 quarterback hurries.