Two Bulldogs among most intriguing prospects at NFL Combine
The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine will get rolling this week and it will include 12 Georgia players. It’s another impressive list for the Bulldogs as they come off another National Championship and NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks is fired up to see at least two of them.
The draft analysts recently listed 10 prospects he couldn’t wait to see in Indianapolis and it included a pair of Georgia’s most freakish athletes — Kelee Ringo and Darnell Washington.
“As a unanimous five-star recruit with an impressive track background, Ringo arrived at Georgia with a whole heap o’ hype,” Brooks writes of Ringo. “He was forced to redshirt his first year on campus due to a shoulder injury, but started on each of the Bulldogs’ back-to-back national championship teams over the past two seasons, earning second-team All-SEC honors this past fall. A size-speed combo with explosiveness, Ringo has all of the surface-level attributes NFL teams are looking for at the cornerback position. But there are questions about his anticipation, technique and ability to track the football in the air. His tape from the 2022 campaign was a mixed bag.
“Ringo’s rare athleticism should shine in the combine setting. The question is how he’ll perform in positional drills. If he can showcase better-than-anticipated footwork and technique, as well as scheme versatility, Ringo could see his draft stock soar.”
Ringo has been the epitome of durability since that shoulder surgery in 2020, appearing in 30 straight games with 27 starts the past two seasons. He has a couple of the biggest interceptions of the past two seasons as well, the deal sealer against Alabama in the National Championship game and one vs. No. 1 Tennessee in November.
Some mocks view him as a first rounder and others have him slipping closer to the No. 50 overall pick. The NFL Combine will go a long way toward telling that story.
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As for Washington, he, too, is getting some first-round love. Like Ringo, Washington has a chance to squeeze a lot out of the combine.
“The supersized tight end is built like an offensive tackle, but moves like a receiver in space. College football fans certainly recall his tackle-breaking, hurdling, 25-yard gain in Georgia’ season-opening blowout of Oregon. Washington’s combination of superb run-blocking skills and extraordinary athleticism — at 6-7 and 270 pounds, according to Georgia’s listing — make him a unicorn at a position that has become the biggest mismatch spot in football. The combine is made for freak shows, and this guy fits the bill.
“If Washington can display refined skills as a route runner and pass catcher, he could push his way into serious first-round consideration as a rare specimen with blue-chip traits.”
After his first real offseason with the program, one that was free of COVID-19 weirdness and injury, Washington broke out. He caught 28 passes for 454 yards and two touchdowns and played through a foot injury in the National Championship blowout of TCU.
