Georgia football: Three Bulldogs drafted in the first round for first time ever
Three Georgia football players became millionaires Thursday night. Roquan Smith, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel were each drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Georgia football made history Thursday night. For the first time ever, three Bulldogs were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Roquan Smith, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel are the trio to earn that record.
Smith heard his name first. The Chicago Bears drafted him eighth overall to complete their defense. The New England Patriots picked Wynn 23rd overall to strengthen their offensive line. Then the Patriots immediately chose with their Michel 31st pick for some more firepower on offense.
Regardless of your feelings of the Patriots or Bears, Thursday was a great night for the Bulldog Nation. To see three of our guys have their names called on the first night of the draft is amazing. It was indeed a proud night in Athens.
Before the Patriots drafted Michel, Thursday was already a historic night. Seven drafts, prior to 2018, featured a pair of Georgia Bulldogs in the first round. The most recent instance was 2013 when the Steelers drafted Jarvis Jones and the Rams drafted Alec Ogletree. The other six times were:
- 2009: Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions), Knowshon Moreno (Denver Broncos)
- 2005: Thomas Davis (Carolina Panthers), David Pollack (Cincinnati Bengals)
- 2003: Johnathan Sullivan (New Orleans Saints), George Foster (Denver Broncos)
- 2001: Richard Seymour (New England Patriots), Marcus Stroud (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 1999: Champ Bailey (Washington Redskins), Matt Stinchcomb (Oakland Raiders)
- 1990: Ben Smith (Philadelphia Eagles), Rodney Hampton (New York Giants)
Michel also became the 33rd Bulldog drafted in the first round all-time. The first was Frank Sinckwich back in 1943. The last first rounder before Thursday was Leonard Floyd in 2016, who Smith joined in Chicago.
The 2018 NFL Draft isn’t over yet. Hopefully day two is just as glorious as day one. Nick Chubb, Lorenzo Carter, Javon Wims, Davin Bellamy, Dominick Sanders and John Atkins could all hear their names called Friday night.
Next: Lets against say thank you to the 2018 Georgia football seniors
The most Bulldogs taken in one draft is eight. That happened in 2013 and 2002. And Georgia has had seven players drafted on six occasions, first in 1975. The 2018 class can zoom past those totals when the draft is over.
The aforementioned players would bring the total to nine. Then there’s Trenton Thompson, Aaron Davis and Jeb Blazevich. The 2018 Georgia football draft class can undoubtedly become the greatest in school history if all of those players are drafted.