The Georgia football program had three defensive players taken Thursday on the first night of the 2025 NFL draft. On the second night, Georgia had three offensive linemen drafted.
It marks the sixth consecutive year in which Georgia has had multiple offensive linemen taken in the draft.
Guard Tate Ratledge was the first ex-Bulldog off the board Friday, landing with the Detroit Lions with the No. 57 pick in the draft.
During the pre-draft process, Ratledge was thrilled that he got to meet Detroit coach Dan Campbell. Now, he’ll get a chance to play for him after Detroit moved up in the draft to select Ratledge.
“When I met coach Campbell with the Lions, yeah, I walked into that meeting and I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ I’m a big fan of him,” Ratledge said at his Pro Day. “So, that was pretty cool to meet him.”
The Bulldogs had two more players go in the third round of the draft. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Dylan Fairchild with the No. 81 overall selection.
It marks the second consecutive year the Bengals have taken a Georgia offensive lineman. Amairus Mims went to them in the first round last year.
The final Bulldog of the night to find a new home was Jared Wilson. While some draft analysts had seen Wilson as a possible second-round pick, he finally heard his name called with the No. 95 overall pick.
In hindsight, Wilson having only 12 career starts likely worked against him. But Wilson goes to an offensive line-needy team in the New England Patriots. Former Georgia Bulldog David Andrews, who was New England’s longtime starting center, announced his retirement this offseason.
Georgia has now had six players drafted in this year’s draft. That is tied with Texas and Oregon for the second most of any school and one less than Ohio State, which has seen seven players taken in the first two rounds.
To break Georgia’s record for the most players taken in a single draft, the Buckeyes will need to have nine players taken Saturday. The Bulldogs had 15 players taken in the 2022 draft.
As has been the case during the first two days of the draft, expect Georgia to be well represented Saturday. Linebacker Smael Mondon, running back Trevor Etienne and defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could be fourth-round picks.
Defensive linemen Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse, wide receiver Arian Smith and defensive back Dan Jackson also are seen as likely NFL draft selections. Georgia could also see wide receiver Dominic Lovett, offensive lineman Xavier Truss, outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss and tight end Benjamin Yurosek drafted.
Of the six players drafted, all six have gone to different teams. We’ll see if the San Francisco 49ers, Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots elect to double-dip.
Following Friday’s selections, Georgia has had 69 players drafted in Kirby Smart’s tenure as Georgia’s head coach. Only the 2022 draft saw more players taken through the first three rounds, as that draft had nine Georgia players taken by this point in the draft.
The final four rounds of the draft will get started at noon Saturday. ESPN and the NFL Network will have continued television coverage.
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