NFL Draft proves Georgia’s “down year” isn’t all that bad

Georgia football did not have the season anyone was hoping for in 2024. Two regular season losses is never good enough at Georgia, and losing in their first game of the College Football Playoff was a disappointment as well.

These are two of the biggest reasons why many college football fans and experts across the country labeled this past season as a failure for UGA. However, Georgia was still able to win 11 games which included the SEC Championship against Texas.

So when you factor that in along with the extremely difficult schedule Georgia played, this past season wasn’t all that bad. In fact, one could argue that almost every other program in the country would be ecstatic if they had the same season UGA just had. The expectations at Georgia however are much higher than what was accomplished in 2024, so that’s why the label of this being a “down year” keeps being thrown around.

However, the NFL Draft this past weekend was another sign of how the “down years” for Georgia really aren’t that bad.

NFL Draft success

Georgia once again was one of the schools with the most draft picks at the NFL Draft this year. In total, UGA finished with 13 picks overall, including three picks in the first round. On top of that, Georgia was the school with the second most picks in the draft only behind Ohio State who ended with 14. The Bulldogs were also the only SEC team to reach 13 picks in this draft as well.

Here are those 13 picks for Georgia in this year’s draft.

So to put it all together, Georgia finished the 2024 season with 11 wins, a College Football Playoff appearance, wins against all of their rivals, an SEC Championship and 13 NFL Draft picks. If this is what UGA’s “down years” look like, then the state of the program under Kirby Smart is as healthy as it’s ever been.