The Philadelphia Eagles entered the 2025 NFL Draft as the defending Super Bowl Champions. That means everyone has their eyes on the Eagles and want to be the team that dethrones them this coming season.
But that is going to be difficult to do because of Philly's unique draft strategy.
The Eagles obviously have a lot of good players on their team from countless schools, but no school has a greater claim to Philly's Super Bowl title than Georgia as the Eagles had a whopping six former Bulldogs on their team this past season. This turned into quite the social media joke as UGA fans coined Philadelphia as the "Philly Dawgs" during their Super Bowl run.
But what began as a joke has materialized into something far greater because the Eagles added yet another Bulldog to their organization during the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
SMAELing over this pick 😄@DietzandWatson | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/LydyVDmmZT
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 26, 2025
LB Smael Mondon is heading to the Eagles
Georgia football linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. was the Eagles latest pick in the NFL draft as he was selected in the fifth round with the 161st overall pick.
Mondon leaves Georgia after a stellar four-year career where he was a starter for three seasons. During those three seasons as a starter, he racked up 201 tackles, seven sacks and one interception. He also led the team in tackles in 2022, even after missing two games during the season.
Mondon was limited throughout the 2024 season with a foot injury, and it's likely that this injury is why Mondon fell to day three of the draft. Without that injury it's very likely that he would have been selected either in the second or third round of the draft on Friday.
Regardless, the Eagles are doing what they do best and what has led them to all of their success, stocking up on as many Bulldogs as possible. And it now seems like this is something they are doing on purpose, as seen by the funny post shared by the Eagles' official social media page after they picked Mondon.
Collecting Bulldogs like Infinity Stones pic.twitter.com/pzZWJSTr4B
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 26, 2025
The Atlanta Falcons will always be the top team for most UGA fans, but it goes without saying that the Eagles will continue to have a special place in the hearts of Georgia football fans after selecting Mondon.