Things have really quieted down for Georgia football during the second night of the 2025 NFL Draft. The first round on Thursday saw three Bulldogs selected by their new NFL teams, but former UGA stars were not finding as much success during rounds two and three on Friday night.
Guard Tate Ratledge was the first Bulldog selected on Friday as the Detroit Lions drafted him in the second round. But Ratledge wasn't the only Georgia offensive lineman selected on Friday as fellow guard Dylan Fairchild found out where his new home in the NFL will be as well.
Bodyguard secured.#WhoDey x @DylanFairchild6 pic.twitter.com/AMYVwXgztl
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 26, 2025
The Cincinnati Bengals select guard Dylan Fairchild in the third round of the NFL Draft
The Cincinnati Bengals are the smart team who drafted Fairchild by using their third round pick (81st overall) in this year's draft.
Fairchild spent four seasons in Athens, where in typical offensive lineman fashion he did not see the field early in his career. It was during his third season at Georgia however where he finally started picking up some steam as he played in all 14 games which included 10 starts. This first season as a main contributor also came on an offensive line that finished first in the SEC in sacks allowed.
This past season in 2024 however is when Fairchild reached his peak. While there are many stats that showcase how great of a player he was, the fact that he was a consensus Second Team All-American speaks for itself.
But speaking of stats, Fairchild was the highest graded pass blocking guard in all of college football over the last two years. This is clearly one of the biggest reasons why the Bengals are using one of their picks on him, and this will undoubtedly come in handy as Cincinnati strives to better protect quarterback Joe Burrow.