Georgia football: Kirby Smart knows how to move the NFL Draft needle

The 2019 Georgia football NFL Draft class

In the 2019 NFL Draft, Georgia football saw seven players get selected, one more than the previous year. There was one first-round pick in Deandre Baker as the New York Giants selected him 30th overall.

Mecole Hardman saw the Kansas City Chiefs wait it out and snag him in the second round with the 56th overall selection. The second Georgia receiver, Riley Ridley went in the fourth round to the Chicago Bears as they picked him up with the 126th pick.

D’Andre Walker went to the Tenessee Titans during the fifth round, Isaac Nauta got drafted in the seventh round to the Detriot Lions and rounding out this class was Terry Godwin who got picked up at pick 237 by the Panthers in the seventh round.

While the 2018 Draft class has its players still succeeding in the NFL, this 2019 class has seen some ups and downs with its members.

Hardman has had the most success among these seven players as he was a member of the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl team. He made an immediate impact on the team as a rookie and continues to be one of Patrick Mahomes go-to receivers.

In 49 games, he has 126 catches for 1,791 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hardman catches the ball 67.6% of the time and is coming off a strong third season. If he stays healthy, the Chiefs will continue to see Hardman succeed.

While Baker went in the first round, he hasn’t had the most normal path. The Giants waived him in Sept. 2020 after he got arrested and when Baker returned to the NFL in 2020, the Chiefs signed him.  In 10 appearances, he has 82 tackles and 10 pass deflections.

He isn’t quite living up to the first-round expectations, but now that he is back on track, Baker can change that.

Gaillard had success with the Cardinals as he saw playing time in 13 2020 games, but they waived him in July 2021. It didn’t take him long to find a new home as the Bengals signed him, waived him in August and signed him back on their practice squad.

He signed a reserve contract in February with the Bengals, so Gaillard could return to the field in the near future.

Godwin had to find the right spot for himself after getting waived by the Panthers. He landed in Jacksonville where he finally saw game action in 2020 recording three catches for 32 yards, but since then he has been on the injured reserve list.

As for Walker, Ridley and Nauta, they spent a little time on teams, but ultimately got waived or cut and haven’t done much since then.

Hardman is the star of this class and this 2019 class shows that it doesn’t always work out at the next level for some.