Mitchell gets chance to play with Tom Brady
Malcolm Mitchell shouldn't have any quarterback issues in his new home. The former UGA receiver was selected with the 112th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots in the fourth round.
Mitchell was Georgia’s leading receiver last season, which was not only his best season but also his healthiest. He played in every game for the first time in five years at Georgia, having recovered from the ACL injury he suffered in the 2013 season opener.
Mitchell had 174 career catches, 2,350 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns at Georgia.
- Seth Emerson
Theus to block for 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers selected former Georgia offensive lineman John Theus with the 145th pick overall in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Theus started 48 games over the past four seasons, including every game the past two years. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the AP and coaches in 2015.
Theus started at left tackle for most of the past two seasons, though he switched to right tackle some late in the season, the spot he started at as a freshman and sophomore.
- Seth Emerson
Jenkins goes to Jets
Former Georgia linebacker Jordan Jenkins now has a home in the NFL. The second Georgia player selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, Jenkins was taken in the third round with the 83rd overall pick by the New York Jets.
Jenkins was projected as a third-round pick by NFL.com earlier in the week.
A graduate of Harris County High School in south Georgia, Jenkins was a three-year full-time starter at Georgia, as well as six games as a freshman. He finished his career with 19 sacks, 40 tackles for loss and 82 QB pressures.
- Dawgnation.com staff reports
Bears grab Leonard Floyd
Leonard Floyd didn’t need to be at the NFL draft in Chicago to make an impact. The Bears took care of that for him.
The Bears used the ninth overall selection to take the Georgia outside linebacker, making him the first player from the SEC to be picked in this year's draft.
“I’m ready to perform for them,” Floyd said during an interview on the team’s web site.
Floyd watched the draft in Atlanta at his aunt’s house.
“It was pretty chill, until the draft started and then everybody got nervous,” Floyd said.
It’s the highest a Georgia player has been picked in the draft since A.J. Green went fourth overall to Cincinnati in 2011. Floyd also went one spot earlier than former Georgia teammate Todd Gurley did last year.
While Floyd didn’t have a spectacular season in 2015— he had 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles-for-loss — he was a major reason Georgia’s defense carried the team.
-- Seth Emerson
Marshall headed to Washington
Keith Marshall's great 40-yard dash time at the Scouting Combine didn't result in a bump up in his draft stock. Nonetheless, the former UGA running back was chosen by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round at pick No. 242.
Marshall is being drafted on his potential — and his combine performance in February — not his on-field production at Georgia the last few seasons. But that wasn’t his fault.
The former five-star prospect tore his ACL as a sophomore in the fifth game the 2013 season. Before the injury, Marshall had gained 1,005 yards rushing and 212 receiving, scoring 11 touchdowns and averaging 6.2 yards per touch. And that was playing behind Todd Gurley.
Marshall had an abbreviated return in 2014, returning before his knee was fully healed. Last season, he played in 11 games, rushing for 350 yards and three touchdowns and averaging 5.9 yards per touch.
-- Seth Emerson
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