A look at former Georgia high school players expected to go in NFL draft
About 20 to 25 former Georgia high school football players are expected to go in the NFL draft this week, and Caleb Downs, a former AJC all-classification player of the year, is almost certain to extend the state’s streak of at least one first-round pick since 2009.
The draft is Thursday through Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Downs, who led Mill Creek to a 2022 state title as a wide receiver/defensive back, is the consensus No. 8 player in the draft, according to NFL Mock Draft Database.
Downs just finished his junior season at Ohio State and is a two-time consensus first-team All-America safety.
Five former Georgia players are considered borderline first-round choices.
They are linebacker C.J. Allen (Lamar County/Georgia), cornerback Colton Hood (Eagle’s Landing Christian/Tennessee), defensive lineman Kayden McDonald (North Gwinnett/Ohio State), cornerback Avieon Terrell (Westlake/Clemson) and edge Zion Young (Westlake/Missouri).
Allen, McDonald and Downs are former AJC Super 11 choices who were among the 28 consensus first-team All-Americans in 2025.
Below are 52 former Georgia high school players who appear on the NFL Mock Draft Database’s Consensus Big Board. It is a composite of more than 150 big boards and 1,200 first-round mock drafts.
The AJC identified the former Georgia players in that database to produce this list.
Former Georgia high school players’ projections for 2026 NFL draft
Overall / Position / Player / College / High school
- First round
- 8 / S / Caleb Downs / Ohio State / Mill Creek
- 31 / DL / Kayden McDonald / Ohio State / North Gwinnett
- 32 / CB / Avieon Terrell / Clemson / Westlake
- Second round
- 34 / CB / Colton Hood / Tennessee / Eagle’s Landing Christian
- 36 / LB / CJ Allen / Georgia / Lamar County
- 37 / EDGE / Zion Young / Missouri / Westlake
- 47 / DL / Christen Miller / Georgia / Cedar Grove
- 56 / IOL / Keylan Rutledge / Georgia Tech / Franklin County
- 62 / IOL / Connor Lew / Auburn / Kennesaw Mountain
- Third round
- 69 / WR / Ted Hurst / Georgia State / Johnson-Savannah
- 77 / EDGE / Romello Height / Texas Tech / Dublin
- 82 / TE / Oscar Delp / Georgia / West Forsyth
- 84 / EDGE / Joshua Josephs / Tennessee / North Cobb
- 94 / S / Jalon Kilgore / South Carolina / Putnam County
- Fourth round
- 106 / IOL / Jalen Farmer / Kentucky / Eastside
- 112 / EDGE / LT Overton / Alabama / Milton
- 121 / S / VJ Payne / Kansas State / Buford
- Fifth round
- 172 / TE / Marlin Klein / Michigan / Rabun Gap-Nacoochee
- Sixth round
- None
- Seventh round
- 243 / DL / Cameron Ball / Arkansas / Tri-Cities
- 249 / WR / CJ Daniels / Miami / Parkview
- 252 / TE / Dae’Quan Wright / Mississippi / Perry
- 257 / CB / Avery Smith / Toledo / Riverwood
- 265 / RB / Noah Whittington / Oregon / Peach County
- 271 / IOL / Micah Morris / Georgia / Camden County
- Others
- 306 / CB / Marcus Allen / North Carolina / Walton
- 321 / EDGE / Tyre West / Tennessee / Tift County
- 360 / S / Skyler Thomas / Oregon State / Heard County
- 392 / RB / Jamal Haynes / Georgia Tech / Grayson
- 417 / S / TJ Quinn / Louisville / Lowndes
- 432 / LB / West Weeks / LSU / Oconee County
- 444 / CB / Rodney Shelley / Georgia Tech / Hughes
- 485 / QB / Thomas Castellanos / Florida State / Ware County
- 490 / DL / Zaylin Wood / Vanderbilt / Heard County
- 493 / CB / Rashad Battle / Pittsburgh / Creekside
- 533 / OT / Shamurad Umarov / Tennessee / Denmark
- 553 / TE / Holden Staes / Indiana / Westminster
- 565 / OT / Dayne Shor / Akron / Denmark
- 580 / IOL / Pichon Wimbley / Georgia Southern / Newnan
- 588 / EDGE / Darren Agu / New Mexico / Rabun Gap-Nacoochee
- 592 / S / Malik Spencer / Michigan State / Buford
- 618 / DL / Jonathan Jefferson / SMU / Douglas County
- 628 / CB / Nyland Green / Arizona State / Newton
- 631 / IOL / Terrence Ferguson / Syracuse / Peach County
- 635 / WR / Dacari Collins / Louisville / Westlake
- 639 / S / David Daniel-Sisavanh / Troy / Woodstock
- 649 / WR / Deion Colzie / Miami (OH) / Athens Academy
- 654 / S / Jordan Favors / Appalachian State / Griffin
- 661 / WR / Jared Brown / South Carolina / Parkview
- 668 / WR / Jayden Thomas / Virginia / Pace Academy
- 680 / IOL / Ashton Grable / Florida A&M / Wilkinson County
- 684 / DL / Zykeivous Walker / Auburn / Schley County
- 726 / QB / Zach Calzada / Kentucky / Lanier
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
