With six former Georgia high school players projected to go in the first round, the NFL draft could set records for the state this week.
According to NFL Mock Draft Database, which produces composite rankings of draft projections, Georgia’s likely first-rounders are Dutchtown High’s Will Anderson of Alabama, Calvary Day’s Nolan Smith of Georgia, Hillgrove’s Myles Murphy of Clemson, Lithonia’s Broderick Jones of Georgia, Sandy Creek’s Brian Branch of Alabama and Dalton’s Jahmyr Gibbs of Alabama.
Anderson is the consensus No. 2 pick overall. Gibbs is a borderline first- or second-round pick.
Six Georgians in the first round would match the record set in 2021, when quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields were the most notable among those taken on the first day that year.
The state has averaged 3.3 first-round picks and 20.9 overall picks over the past decade, but the coming draft, which starts Thursday and concludes Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, figures to surpass those norms substantially.
NFL Mock Draft Database has 29 former Georgia high school players among the top 259, which is the number of selections available. The most famous of those is Pierce County’s Stetson Bennett. The former Georgia quarterback is pegged as a late sixth-rounder.
Several more Georgia players are on the edge of being drafted. Those include Cedar Grove’s Jadon Haselwood, a former AJC all-classification player of the year who finished at Arkansas last season.
NFL Mock Draft had only 24 former Georgia players in the top seven rounds a year ago, undershooting the final total – a record-tying 30 – by a half-dozen. That class included Upson-Lee’s Travon Walker, the No. 1 overall pick. Georgia also had 30 picks in 2015, when Adairsville’s Vic Beasley went No. 8 overall to the Falcons.
The number of Georgia players drafted has increased profoundly in recent decades. The state averaged only 11.6 picks in the 1990s and 13.5 in the first decade of this century.
Below are NFL Mock Draft Database’s rankings of the 35 former Georgia high school players who attended the NFL combine.
First round
2. LB Will Anderson, Dutchtown (Alabama)
16. DL Nolan Smith, Calvary Day/IMG Academy (Georgia)
17. DL Myles Murphy, Hillgrove (Clemson)
18. OL Broderick Jones, Lithonia (Georgia)
24. DB Brian Branch, Sandy Creek (Alabama)
30. RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Dalton (Alabama)
Second round
47. LB B.J. Ojulari, Marietta (LSU)
49. WR Josh Downs, North Gwinnett (North Carolina)
51. DB D.J. Turner, North Gwinnett (Michigan)
Third round
94. RB Tank Bigsby, Callaway (Auburn)
101. DB Jammie Robinson, Lee County (Florida State)
Fourth round
106. DB Christopher Smith, Hapeville Charter (Georgia)
107. DL YaYa Diaby, North Clayton (Louisville)
126. LB Owen Pappoe, Grayson (Auburn)
133. OL Wanya Morris, Grayson (Oklahoma)
Fifth round
148. DL Colby Wooden, Archer (Auburn)
151. DB Terell Smith, South Gwinnett (Minnesota)
162. TE Davis Allen, Calhoun (Clemson)
164. OL Warren McClendon, Brunswick (Georgia)
175. RB Keaton Mitchell, Eagle’s Landing Christian (East Carolina)
Sixth round
182. DB Jay Ward, Colquitt County (LSU)
187. TE Payne Durham, Peachtree Ridge (Purdue)
204. RB Chris Rodriguez, Ola (Kentucky)
205. QB Stetson Bennett, Pierce County (Georgia)
Seventh round
222. DL Robert Beal, Norcross/Peachtree Ridge (Georgia)
227. DL Thomas Incoom, Stone Mountain (Central Michigan)
233. DL Isaiah Land, Grayson (Florida A&M)
239. DL Brenton Cox, Stockbridge (Florida)
257. DB Trey Dean, Dutchtown (Florida)
Outside the seventh round
276. LB Shaka Heyward, Mill Creek (Duke)
280. DB Rashad Torrence, Marietta (Florida)
284. LB Charlie Thomas, Thomasville (Georgia Tech)
290. WR Jadon Haselwood, Cedar Grove (Arkansas)
371. PK Jack Podlesny, Glynn Academy (Georgia)
452. WR Kearis Jackson, Peach County (Georgia)
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