Zero Georgia Football Players in ESPN 2021 First-Round NFL Mock Draft
Since taking over in 2016, Kirby Smart has had six players drafted in the first round and aside from his first season has had at least one every year. According to ESPN's Todd McShay 2021 mock draft though, Georgia will not have a player drafted in the first round in the upcoming draft.
McShay has become one of the more prominent voices that people listen to in regards to mock drafts and assessing how a player will fare in the NFL. That being said, a mock draft this early means very little especially without a snap being played yet in the 2020 season, but nonetheless it is still interesting to see McShay not have a single Georgia player taken in the first round.
With players like Tyson Campbell, Richard LeCounte, and Trey Hill one would think McShay would include one of those names within the first 32 picks of the draft. As mentioned before though, there hasn't been a single snap played this season yet which is probably why Georgia was excluded from this mock draft.
Tyson Campbell, Richard LeCounte, Trey Hill, and also Jamie Newman are all very talented players but they all have something that they need to improve upon. Tyson Campbell looks the part of a first-round pick. He has the size, speed, and length to become exactly that but after missing a good chunk of games last year to a toe injury NFL GMs still need to see more game film on Campbell. If he can prove he can consistently be a lockdown defensive back on every play then he will most likely find himself being drafted in the first round.
Richard LeCounte could improve upon consistently locking guys up in both man to man and zone coverage and showing this season that he can be a leader on defense. Trey Hill needs to prove he can snap the ball cleanly every single play and that he can be a force up front that creates space for the run game as the man in the middle. Jamie Newman has all the tools in the world in regards to his athletic ability but needs to show NFL teams this season that he can throw the ball with accuracy and consistency.
The reason behind pointing all of this out is not to say Georgia doesn't have anyone good enough to become a first-round pick, but more to show that NFL evaluators need to see more from them this season. The season is a player's opportunity to prove their worth and show what they can do because the film doesn't lie and is the ultimate test of how good a player is.
There's also the added possibility that the SEC is set to play a football season without the Pac-12 or Big Ten lining it up. This allows players to potentially perform well enough to leapfrog the competition that will be sitting out a year.
Some of the names mentioned above would need a much stronger showing than others to get their name called in the first round, but after the upcoming season is played it is safe to say Georgia will most likely have a player drafted in the first round to keep the streak alive.
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