Georgia made history in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night when the Bulldogs had five defensive players from their national championship team selected in the first round. It marks the first time a college team has seen that many players from its defensive unit taken among the top 32 picks in a draft.
Consider that no other entire program had more than two players selected in Round 1, and Georgia's achievement is even more impressive. In fact, the Dawgs had more defenders selected than the ACC, Pac-12, AAC respectively had total picks.
Highlighting UGA's haul on Thursday was No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker, a defensive end who went to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Following Walker's selection, a bit of collegiate diversity ensued as five of the first six picks came from different conferences. But by night's end, the opening round featured a familiar flavor as 12 of the 32 picks came from SEC schools.
Georgia led the way its five overall selections: No. 13 pick Jordan Davis (Eagles), No. 22 pick Quay Walker (Packers) and No. 28 pick Devonte Wyatt (Packers) and No. 32 pick Lewis Cine (Vikings) joined Travon Walker in the festivities. All five played key roles in helping Georgia win a national title this past season, and they likely won't be the last defensive players selected from an all-time great Georgia defense as the draft continues Friday and Saturday. In fact, many were surprised Nakobe Dean was not among the first 32 picks, but he should be off the board early in Round 2.
The SEC once again led the way with 12 first-round picks, the same number of players it had chosen last year. In fact, the Big Ten also repeated its second-place finish with seven first-round picks, again mirroring its number of selections from a year ago. The Big Ten's haul was headlined by No. 2 pick Aiden Hutchinson, a defensive end from Michigan.
From a collegiate perspective, there was another bit of history on Thursday night. Alabama tied Miami's record of 14 straight drafts with at least one first-round selection as offensive lineman Evan Neal (No. 7 to the Giants) and receiver Jameson Williams (No. 12 to the Lions) each went in the first round. The Crimson Tide are on pace to break that record in 2023.
Here's 2022 NFL Draft broken down by school at the conclusion of the first round.
2022 NFL Draft picks by schools, conferences
SEC (12)
- Georgia — 5
- Alabama — 2
- LSU — 1
- Mississippi State — 1
- Texas A&M — 1
- Arkansas — 1
- Florida — 1
Big Ten (7)
- Michigan — 2
- Ohio State — 2
- Penn State — 1
- Purdue — 1
- Iowa — 1
ACC (4)
- Florida State — 1
- Boston College — 1
- NC State — 1
- Pittsburgh — 1
Pac-12 (4)
- Oregon — 1
- USC — 1
- Washington — 1
- Utah — 1
AAC (2)
- Cincinnati — 1
- Tulsa — 1
Other (3)
- Notre Dame — 1 (Independent)
- Northern Iowa — 1 (FCS Missouri Valley)
- Chattanooga — 1 (Southern)
