15 state players taken in NFL Draft
Fifteen former Georgia high school football players were taken in last week's NFL Draft, according to research by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
That’s the lowest total since 2012 and only half the state-record of 30 established in 2015, but still ahead of what was considered typical in previous decades.
Georgia has averaged 19.2 players taken in the draft since 2011. That’s a sharp rise over the average of 13.6 in 2001-2010 and 12.0 in 1991-2000.
The list of 2016 Georgia draftees is below.
First, a few observations:
-Leonard Floyd, the former University of Georgia linebacker and the highest draft pick among Georgians, is the 15th state player to be chosen among the first 10 overall picks over the past 25 years. The list includes Cam Newton, Eric Berry, Calvin Johnson, Champ Bailey and Garrison Hearst. Floyd, formerly of Dodge County, went No. 9 overall to the Bears.
-Three Georgians were taken in the first round – Floyd, Eastside’s Sheldon Rankins (Louisville) and Grayson’s Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss). Georgia has produced at least three first-round picks each season since 2010 except for 2012, when only one (Bruce Irvin) was taken.
-Floyd, Rankins and six other players were the first from their Georgia high schools ever taken. The others are Vonn Bell (Ridgeland), Kevin Byard (M.L. King), Kenyan Drake (Hillgrove), Jordan Jenkins (Harris County), Ronald Blair (Greene County) and D.J. White (Union Grove).
-Vadal Alexander, the LSU guard taken in the seventh round by the Raiders, was the first former Buford player taken since P.K. Sam in 2004. Buford has won seven state titles in the meantime.
-Malcolm Mitchell, the UGA receiver taken in the fourth round by the Patriots, is the first former Valdosta player taken since Brice Hunter in 1996. Hunter also was a wide receiver from Georgia.
-No quarterback from Georgia was drafted. Only three have been picked since 2006. They are Cam Newton (2011), T.J. Yates (2011) and Zach Mettenberger (2014).
-The Chiefs drafted three Georgia players – wide receiver DeMarcus Robinson of Peach County and Florida; wide receiver Tyreek Hill of Coffee and West Alabama; and cornerback D.J. White of Union Grove and Georgia Tech. The Chiefs already have a Georgia wide receiver on the team, Chris Conley of North Paulding, taken in the third round last season.
-Robinson is the first former Peach County player taken in the draft since tight end Randy McMichael in 2002. He’s the third Peach County’s WR drafted. The others are Jacquez Green, whom Robinson followed to the University of Florida, and Robinson’s uncle, Marcus Robinson, who played at South Carolina.
-Stephen Weatherly is the second former Shiloh player taken in the draft, the first since David Pollack, a first-round pick of the Bengals in 2005. Both were drafted as linebackers, although Pollack played as a defensive end in college, as did Weatherly occasionally. Weatherly also is the first former North Atlanta player ever taken in the draft. He transferred to Shiloh for his senior season.
-Five of the 15 are former Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 picks. They are Nkemdiche, Bell, Drake, Jenkins and Robinson. Nkemdiche, the 2011 all-classification player of the year and consensus No. 1 recruit in the country by 2013, was the most celebrated high school player of the group. Nkemdiche is the second Grayson player ever taken, first since Quanterus Smith in 2013.
| Rd | Ov. | Player | Pos. | High School | COLLEGE | NFL team |
| 1 | 9 | Leonard Floyd | LB | Dodge County | Georgia | Chicago Bears |
| 1 | 12 | Sheldon Rankins | DT | Eastside | Louisville | New Orleans Saints |
| 1 | 29 | Robert Nkemdiche | DT | Grayson | Ole Miss | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2 | 61 | Vonn Bell | S | Ridgeland | Ohio State | New Orleans Saints |
| 3 | 64 | Kevin Byard | S | M.L. King | Middle Tennessee | Tennessee Titans |
| 3 | 73 | Kenyan Drake | RB | Hillgrove | Alabama | Miami Dolphins |
| 3 | 83 | Jordan Jenkins | LB | Harris County | Georgia | New York Jets |
| 4 | 112 | Malcolm Mitchell | WR | Valdosta | Georgia | New England Patriots |
| 4 | 126 | DeMarcus Robinson | WR | Peach County | Florida | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 5 | 142 | Ronald Blair | DE | Greene County | Appalachian State | San Francisco 49ers |
| 5 | 165 | Tyreek Hill | WR | Coffee | West Alabama | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 5 | 169 | Antwione Williams | LB | Lovejoy | Georgia Southern | Detroit Lions |
| 6 | 178 | D.J. White | CB | Union Grove | Georgia Tech | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 7 | 227 | Stephen Weatherly | LB | Shiloh | Vanderbilt | Minnesota Vikings |
| 7 | 234 | Vadal Alexander | G | Buford | LSU | Oakland Raiders |
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