Georgia football has quiet opening night of 2026 NFL draft

Georgia has grown accustomed to dominating the NFL draft, but that was not the case during Thursday’s first round.

The Bulldogs had just one player taken among the first 32 picks in the draft, as Monroe Freeling landed with the Carolina Panthers with the No. 19 pick in the first round.

Freeling becomes the sixth different offensive tackle to go in the first round since Kirby Smart became Georgia’s head coach in 2016. The Bulldogs have had a first-round draft pick in nine consecutive drafts.

“Congrats @FreelingMonroe! It has been awesome watching you grow over the past three years,” Smart said in a Tweet. “The @Panthers are getting a great leader and a force in the trenches. GO DAWGS!!”

Mel Kiper Jr. was a fan of the pick, thinking the Panthers got great value for someone who has a ton of upside.

“In pass pro this year, he did a great job. Run blocking needs to be improved,” Kiper said on the ESPN telecast. “I actually thought he’d go a little earlier than this.”

Freeling was the fifth offensive tackle taken in the NFL draft. A total of seven came off the board in the first 32 picks.

This was the first time since the 2021 NFL draft that Georgia did not have multiple first-round picks. That draft saw Eric Stokes come off the board to the Green Bay Packers with No. 27.

Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Alabama, Miami, Utah, Arizona State, Clemson and Notre Dame all had multiple players taken in the first round. The Buckeyes had four players taken in the first 11 picks of the draft, including Caleb Downs.

Several of Georgia’s rivals also had first-round picks, with Florida, Georgia Tech and Auburn all having selections on Thursday. Georgia did beat all of those teams this past season.

With just one player coming off the board on Thursday, it sets up for a very busy Friday for the Georgia program, when the second and third rounds will take place.

Linebacker CJ Allen and defensive tackle Christen Miller are expected to come off the board early in the second round. Tight end Oscar Delp and cornerback Daylen Everette are also expected to hear their names called, but they are more likely to come off the board in the third round.

As for Zachariah Branch, his status will be worth monitoring following his arrest over the weekend on misdemeanor charges of obstructing public sidewalks/streets—prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement official. Branch already had a wide range, with some seeing him as a second-round pick, while others have him coming off the board in the third round. Even before the arrest, Branch had been one of the more polarizing prospects in the draft.

With Freeling coming off the board, Georgia has now had 21 first-round draft picks since Smart became the program’s head coach. In that same span, the Bulldogs are 117-21.

The second round of the 2026 NFL draft gets started at 7 p.m. EST. The draft concludes on Saturday with rounds four through seven.