Georgia Football: Revisiting the Bulldogs historic 2022 NFL Draft

Simply put, the 2022 NFL Draft was nothing short of historic for Georgia football.

Only two years after LSU tied Ohio State for the record for the most drafts pick from one school in a single draft at 14, Georgia would break that record during the 2022 NFL Draft, seeing 15 players selected off their national title winning team.

Let’s revisit that draft, and take a look back at the 15 Bulldogs who were selected, beginning with the first round.

Revisiting Georgia football’s historic 2022 NFL Draft

First Round

• No. 1 overall – DE Travon Walker (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• No. 13 overall – DT Jordan Davis (Philadelphia Eagles)
• No. 22 overall – LB Quay Walker (Green Bay Packers)
• No. 28 overall – DT Devonte Wyatt (Green Bay Packers)
• No. 32 overall – S Lewis Cine (Minnesota Vikings)

The Bulldogs would see five total players selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, each of which came off a defense that allowed 10.2 PPG to opponents during the 2021 season, a number that ranked first nationally. Of those five, four came from the front seven, a group headlined by No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker to the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the total of five defensive players also setting an NFL Draft record of the most defenders off one team selected in the first round in a single draft.

Second Round

• No. 52 overall – WR George Pickens (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• No. 63 overall – RB James Cook (Buffalo Bills)

Georgia’s first offensive players selected would come in the second round, with both Pickens and Cook coming off the board. Pickens would also go on to have one of the top rookie seasons of any 2022 Georgia draft pick, catching 52 passes for 801 yards and four touchdowns across 17 games with the Steelers.

Third Round

• No. 83 overall – LB Nakobe Dean (Philadelphia Eagles)
• No. 102 overall – LB Channing Tindall (Miami Dolphins)

After seeing one linebacker taken in the first round with Quay Walker, Georgia’s other two rotation options at the position would be selected in the third with Dean and Tindall. Both Dean and Tindall were primarily used as reserve options during their rookie NFL seasons.

Fourth Round

• No. 122 overall – RB Zamir White (Las Vegas Raiders)
• No. 133 overall – P Jake Camarda (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Georgia would also see two players selected in the fourth round in White and Camarda. Camarda would also be a noteworthy pick in particular, as he would be one of the top punters selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Sixth Round

• No. 190 overall – OG Justin Shaffer (Atlanta Falcons)
• No. 195 overall – OG Jamaree Salyer (Los Angeles Chargers)
• No. 212 overall – CB Derion Kendrick (Los Angeles Rams)
• No. 213 overall – TE John FitzPatrick (Atlanta Falcons)

Not having any players selected in either the fifth or seventh rounds, Georgia’s selections in the 2022 NFL Draft would conclude with four picks in the sixth to make it 15 total. Included in that group would be three players along the offensive front, as well as Kendrick on the defensive side of the ball, who would go on to compile 43 tackles across 15 games as a rookie with the Los Angeles Rams.

Will Georgia football’s record of 15 players selected in a single NFL Draft ever be broken?