NFL Free Agency Confirming How Abnormal Georgia's 2021 Defense Was

This year's NFL free agency is continuing to prove just how abnormal Georgia's 2021 defense was.

NFL free agency officially started up on Monday this week and several former Georgia players have gotten paid. Quay Walker signed a $40.5 million deal with the Raiders, Nakobe Dean got $36 million from the Raiders and Jordan Davis signed a $78 million extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, the largest contract for a nose tackle in NFL history.

It's always good for a college football program to see former players getting paid the way former Bulldogs have thus far, but this year's free agency market has further established just how abnormal Georgia's 2021 defense was.

NFL Free Agency Proving Georgia Had Perhaps the Greatest College Defense Ever

Jan 15, 2022; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Quay Walker (7) and linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) at the Georgia Bulldogs National Championship Celebration at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Everyone knows the numbers from that season. They had five first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, allowed just an average of 10.2 points per game, and allowed just three rushing touchdowns all season. They were considered as one of the greatest defenses to ever be assembled and the further we get away from that historic season, the evidence only becomes more invigorating.

Walker, Dean and Davis are the latest examples of former Georgia players from that defense who have been paid, but other names like Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter are all still playing on their rookie contracts.

Jacksonville will have to make a decision on what they want to do with Walker by the end of next season and the Eagles are currently fielding trade offers for Carter, according to reports. Regardless of whether Carter and Walker stay with their current teams, though, someone is going to end up paying them here in the near future, along with Smith and Wyatt.

Some things don't age well over time, but Georgia's 2021 defense has aged like fine wine. If the numbers that unit put up en route to a national title in 2021 weren't enough for people to believe they were one of the greatest defenses ever assembled, then perhaps their life spans in the NFL will tip the scales in their favor.

After all, the Eagles won a Super Bowl not too long ago with the help of several former Bulldogs on defense. Now it seems like the Las Vegas Raiders are going to give their best shot at replicating that with the signings of Dean and Walker, along with the retention of defensive back Eric Stokes, another former Bulldog.