Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
2023 NFL Draft makes case for Georgia 2021 ‘No-Name Defense’ as best of modern era
System
Posts: 11,082 admin
2023 NFL Draft makes case for Georgia 2021 ‘No-Name Defense’ as best of modern era
ATHENS — The 2021 Georgia “No-Name” Defense can finally rest its case as the greatest of the post-BCS (1998) era.
Comments
Kirby Smart is the King of the hill. Period...
"Still, ESPN recently perpetuated the notion the 2021 Georgia defense wasn’t all it was cracked up to be by ranking them 17th-greatest of all-time, a spot ahead of the 2018 Bulldogs’ defense."
Not so recent, actually. It was back in July 2022. But it's even more ridiculous today than it was then.
First of all, the writer (Bill Connelly) ranked the '19, '20 and '21 UGA defenses together as No. 17. That makes no sense.
Second, half the teams ranked ahead of Georgia were pre-1990. Maybe, maybe, you compare the great 1965 Michigan State to modern teams. But the 1939 Tennessee Vols? 1932 USC? Was Bill Connelly around then? Did he have hours of tape of those teams to review? Not to mention, were those teams playing against more than a handful of African-American athletes? And did offenses back then have any juice? C'mon.
Finally, you have just look at the plain facts.@MikeGriffith Given the competition, the stats, and the talent that showed its value in the draft, 2017 Bama is the only modern defenses that can be talked about in the same breath Georgia's 2021 D. And @MikeGriffith lays out exactly why, in retrospect, the '21 Georgia D probably edges 2017 Alabama.
I still think Connelly wrote the article just to troll fans who watched the 2021 season -- and not just Georgia fans. He had a contrarian, provocative hot take, and I'm sure it got him a lot of clicks.
@MikeGriffith thanks for digging up the details. Great stuff.
now see how well the offensive line compared to those back to back joe Moore winners at Mich. of course that should be next year as SVPG is playing one more year!!!
Depending on how they play, next year's OL could produce as many as four draftees. My way-too-early prediction: SVPG and Amarius within the first two rounds; Truss and Ratledge soon after that -- unless of course one or two or three of them decide to stick around for another year.
Next year draft picks
Offense
Bowers - 1st
Beck - 2nd
Ratledge - 3rd
Truss - 6th
McKonkey - 6th
Arian - 4th
Defense
Stack - 5th
Logue - 6th
Smael - 1st
Pop - 2nd
Lassiter - 3rd
Tykee - 6th
Also, the 2023 defense will be better than last years but not as good as 2021 because we don't have the interior DL to be that great.
However, look for the 2024 defense to right up there with 2021 across the board. Will have 10 guys or more on 2024 that will be pros and probably 6 or 7 1st rounders.
Next Year Van Pran-Granger is likely to be the number one IOL prospect in the draft, and is like to at least be a 2nd round pick, if not a 1st Rounder.
Also, with a solid 3rd season, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Amarius Mims get picked within the first 2 rounds.
Plus, with a solid season, and especially if he stays healthy, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Kendall Milton picked up in the 3rd-5th Round of the draft as well.
Rosemy-Jacksaint could end up being a 5th-7th Round WR that is taken with a solid season too.
Some have suggested that Sorey is going to be a legit top 50 pick with a breakout year, but he's going to have to find alot of snaps and get on the field alot more for that to happen. He would undoubtedly be one of the best Combine performers, but he has a long ways to go to get there.
I also think Bullard will be draft eligible as well, and he's likely to get drafted somewhere between the 2nd-4th Round if he has a solid season. If he has another breakout season, and continues to build off his success from last season, he very well could be a late 1st to early 2nd round target with a good combine and proday performance..
I like your optimistic roundup. But it could be even better than that because you left out Van Pram and Mims, who could both go in the first round.