ESPN reveals value of key players on Georgia’s back-to-back title teams
Credit: Ryon Horne / Ryon.Horne@ajc.com
ATHENS — Kirby Smart has pointed to the collective buy-in and resilience of Georgia’s 2021 and 2022 teams, which made unprecedented history in the playoff era with back-to-back College Football Playoff championships.
But when push comes to shove some players have more value and impact than others, and NFL success provides a barometer of sorts to that point.
A recent ESPN article provided insight into who one well-sourced NFL expert believes are the most valuable former Georgia Bulldogs in the league.
To no one’s surprise, the vast majority of those former Bulldogs have two national championship rings.
Brock Bowers and Jalen Carter, staples in Georgia’s back-to-back CFP championships, have been deemed the most valuable players on their respective NFL teams by ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell.
Bowers and Carter are each worth two first-round picks — or more — in a hypothetical trade situation.
Bowers is the more obvious after setting team and league records last season in his rookie campaign with the Las Vegas Raiders, most notably the NFL rookie record for receptions (112) and NFL record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end (1,194).
“Teams don’t typically trade two first-round picks for players who are at the bottom end of the positional spectrum, but Bowers isn’t a typical tight end,” penned Barnwell. “ … (Bowers) is signed for the next three years at a total of $7.3 million. Even if you treat him more like a WR2 than a tight end, that’s still an incredible bargain. He doesn’t turn 23 until December, so while even great tight ends have shorter careers than players at most other positions, he should be a building block for years to come.
“Every offensive-minded head coach in the league would hand the phone to his general manager and tell him to get a deal done if Bowers were available.”
Carter, as Georgia fans know, is a one-man wrecking machine, and Barnwell believes even bigger things are ahead for the rising third-year NFL star in Philadelphia.
Credit: AP
“He doesn’t have spectacular numbers, racking up 10.5 sacks and 25 knockdowns over his first two seasons, but the tape shows a player who consistently pushed the pocket and presents an incredibly difficult matchup for interior offensive lineament,” Barnwell wrote. “He’s on the verge of a 10-sack season, which might come as early as 2025.”
Georgia has five other NFL players the ESPN analyst noted would be worth at least one first-round NFL pick in a hypothetical trade scenario.
Two of those players, Matthew Stafford and Travon Walker, are former No. 1 overall picks.
Stafford, 37 years old and managing back issues as he enters his 17th season, remains a potential franchise player.
“Even if Stafford is a two-year rental, we saw the Jets send about a first-round pick’s worth of compensation to the Packers for Aaron Rodgers just two years ago,” Barnwell noted, “and Stafford is both younger and better than Rodgers was at the time of the deal.”
Walker, on the other hand, is still working to live up to lofty expectations even as he has made an impact and brought value.
“So far, it looks like the Jaguars erred by taking Walker ahead of Aidan Hutchinson with the first overall pick in the 2022 draft,” Barnwell opined.
“It’s simultaneously true that Walker has emerged as a solid pass rusher, posting back-to-back double-digit sack campaigns in his age-23 and age-24 seasons.
Amarius Mims, like Bowers and Carter a two-time CFP championship player, started 13 of the 15 games he played for Cincinnati after the Bengals made him the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Houston cornerback Kamari Lassiter and L.A. Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey have provided immediate and dynamic value.
“(Lassiter) allowed a completion percentage 11.5 points below expectation in coverage, the third-best mark in the league among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps,” Barnwell reports. “There were concerns that he might end up in the slot as a pro, but he was excellent across from (Derek) Stingley on the outside.”
McConkey, like his good friend Bowers, was a record-breaking rookie, setting the franchise rookie record for catches (82) and receiving yards (1,149) as the second pick of the second round (34th overall).
“Based on his 2024 tape, McConkey should have been a first-round pick,” Barnwell penned. “If the Chargers get more of that, his remaining deal (three years at a total of $5.1 million) will be one of the biggest bargains at any position. I can see an argument for him being worth more than one first-rounder via trade.”
Georgia’s most recent first-round picks — two-time CFP champions Mykel Williams (11th overall, San Francisco), Jalon Walker (15th overall, Falcons) and Malaki Starks (27th overall, Baltimore) would also command a first-round pick if traded, per Barnwell.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
