The opening night anthem for the 2022 NFL Draft just had to be Ray Charles’ smooth ballad, “Georgia On My Mind”.
Five players from the University of Georgia’s national championship defense were taken in round one Thursday night with the Green Bay Packers selecting a pair in linebacker Quay Walker at number 22 and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt at number 28. The opening round started and ended with Bulldogs as Jacksonville took Travon Walker number one number one and the Minnesota Vikings ended the night selecting safety Lewis Cine. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis rounded out the Bulldog litter of five by going to the Philadelphia Eagles at 13, trading up two spots to jump the Baltimore Ravens who wanted him as well.
Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst has now taken defensive players at the top of his board in four of his five drafts and this is the first time in franchise history two teammates from the same school were selected in the first round. Gutekunst said both players are big and explosive and practically played against NFL caliber competition every Saturday in Athens and across the SEC considering 12 of the 32 players chosen came from the power conference.
The team’s most pressing need has yet to be addressed however as Gutekunst got tempted to trade up for a wide receiver especially as a big run of pass catchers got going at pick number 8 when the Atlanta Falcons selected Drake London of USC. The Ohio State tandem of Garrett Wilson (#10 to the Jets) and Chris Olave (#11 to the Saints) fell and then the Detroit Lions took the ACL rehabilitating Jameson Williams of Alabama at number 12. The Washington Commanders selected Jahan Dotson of Penn State at number 16 and then the Tennessee Titans then shipped veteran wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles to climb to the number 18 slot to take Treylon Burks of Arkansas. Gutekunst took a couple of calls but decided to stand pat with his top of the board receivers were all spoke for. Considering how the veteran wide receiver salary market exploded this off-season for players like Davante Adams, Tyreke Hill and others, locking up talented pass catchers on much more manageable rookie contracts for four and perhaps five years, fueled the opening round run.
There are still several in the deep class that will tempt him Friday night and why not play the Georgia trifecta? Another Bulldog, George Pickens is still on the board. As are big targets David Bell of Purdue and Justyn Ross of Clemson. The Packers brought in North Dakota State’s Christian Watson for a Green Bay visit prior to the draft as well. Sub 6-foot receivers John Metchie III of Alabama and Skyy Moore on Western Michigan could also be candidates.
By going defense again, maybe Gutekunst is trying to make life a little easier for Aaron Rodgers as he inches through his late 30’s. Fortifying an already solid unit, perhaps the Packers will ask Rodgers to win games 24-17 or 21-13 instead of trying to survive 38-35 shootouts from not long ago.
He believes Walker, at 6-4 and 240 with long arms and rangy speed is almost a De’Vondre Campbell clone. Having two big inside linebackers staying on the field for all three downs will present some issues for opposing offenses. Wyatt, at 6-3 and 315 pounds might have been overshadowed a big by Davis on the Georgia front but he may be the more explosive penetrator and pass rusher to team with Kenny Clark inside with Rashan Gary and Preston Smith collapsing the edges.
Time will tell and reinforcements on both sides of the ball are still coming through the final six rounds.
As for the rest of Round 1, defense ruled the night. The top five players taken were defenders. After Travon Walker went to the Jaguars, Detroit snapped up the homegrown product, defensive end Aiden Hutchinson of Michigan. Back to back cornerbacks followed with LSU’s Derek Stingley going to Houston and the Jets tabbing Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner from Cincinnati. The Giants ended the early defensive run with Oregon’s edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Three offensive tackles were a prelude to the run on receivers with Carolina taking Ikem Ekwonu of North Carolina State at number 6 followed by the Giants grabbing Alabama’s Evan Neal. Seattle selected Mississippi State’s Charles Cross at number 10.
The first safety off the board, as expected, was Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton, taken by the Baltimore Ravens at 14. The Ravens also dealt a veteran wide receiver on opening night, sending Marquis “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals.
Offensive linemen became a popular choice deeper into the round. Guard Kenyon Green from Texas A&M was the Houston Texans choice at 15, the Los Angeles Chargers picked Zion Johnson of Boston College at 17. The Saints went with Northern Iowa tackle Trevor Penning in the 19th slot. Mike McCarthy got tackle Tyler Smith of Tulsa for his Cowboys offensive line at number 24. The Ravens second first round pick was Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum at 25 and the Patriots finished the big man run with a surprise, taking guard Cole Strange from Chattanooga at 29.
Linebackers and corners filled out the round one board with Kansas City taking Washington’s defensive back Trent McDuffie at 21, Kaiir Elam of Florida went to Buffalo at 23 and Cincinnati took Michigan’s Daxton Hill at pick 31. The linebackers included Jermaine Johnson of Florida State to the Jets at 26, Utah’s Devin Lloyd went next to the Jaguars and Purdue’s edge rusher, George Karlaftis was taken by Kansas City at number 30.
A year after quarterbacks went 1, 2, 3 with Tevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, there was only one signal caller taken. He didn’t have far to travel either. The Steelers, in need of a successor to the retired Ben Roethlisberg, chose Pitt Panther QB Kenny Picket at number 20. The position that at one time dominated the top of the draft, running back, went uncalled upon.
The Pack’s NFC North opponents did some interesting things. The Vikings for instance, made a trade with division rival Detroit to give up the 12th pick to drop to 32 and add a few more choices this weekend. That allowed the Lions to take a dynamic receiver in Williams who might not be able to catch a pass until mid-season at the earliest after tearing his ACL in the National Championship game loss. But Detroit is more than half a year away under second year Head Coach Dan Campbell and they’ll be more than happy to wait with Hutchinson shoring up the defensive front. The Vikings helped cover the back end of their new defense in Minnesota and hope to add more reinforcements. The Chicago Bears were a bystander on opening night.
But back to that college football title game. Green Bay’s two choices were standout performers for Georgia. Wyatt wreaked havoc up front and Walker piled up 8 tackles and 6 quarterback hurries as Georgia dethroned the Crimson Tide. The pipeline to Athens is flowing north as this new Bulldog tandem joins last year’s top pick Eric Stokes, in carrying the same “G” logo on their helmet but instead of red and black, their hats are now green and gold.
