ATHENS – Former Georgia Bulldog Eric Stokes might have produced the Twitter meme of the year Friday, at least where UGA fans are concerned.
It was a picture of Georgia’s “Power G” along the Green Bay Packers’ ‘G.’ The two iconic logos have looked remarkably similar for decades. Below the side-by-side, stitched pics was the character of “Pam” from American hit show “The Office.”
“They’re the same picture,” she declares.
That meme carried additional significance after Friday’s revelation that Georgia, on a night in which many draft records fell, had another incredibly obscure one drop in the process as well.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Packers are the first NFL team in the “common draft era” (that’s since 1967) to use three consecutive first-round selections on players from the same college (spanning two drafts).
Stokes, a cornerback, was Green Bay’s only first-round selection in 2021. On Thursday, the Packers took linebacker Quay Walker with the 22nd pick and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with the 28th.
Truly, it was a three-dog night in Green Bay.
“It’s amazing, man; it’s a blessing,” Wyatt told Green Bay reporters in a video conference call late Thursday night. “Getting drafted with a teammate and already having a teammate that’s already down there, I’m very happy. I’m very confident. I’m ready to go ball.”
That was yet another bizarre twist in a record-setting draft night for the Bulldogs. Georgia established an NFL record by having five defensive players selected in the first round. Defensive end Travon Walker went to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 1 pick -- becoming the Bulldogs’ first defensive player to go No. 1. The Philadephia Eagles chose nose guard Jordan Davis at No. 13, then came Quay Walker, Wyatt and, finally, safety Lewis Cine with 32nd and last pick of the first round to the Minnesota Vikings.
In fact, reporters in Green Bay were in the middle of a teleconference-call interview with Quay Walker late Thursday night when the Packers’ selection of Wyatt was being announced on the draft’s live television broadcast. So Walker didn’t even know it had happened when he was asked what he thought of another Georgia teammate joining him and Stokes.
“We picked Devonte Wyatt? For real?” Walker said in a high-pitched tone. “That’s crazy! It’s a reunion. Aw, man. I can’t even say anything else because I’ll probably cry again, and I’ve already cried too much. D-Wyatt! That’s crazy, three Georgia boys.”
» Travon Walker selected with No. 1 pick in NFL draft
» Jordan Davis selected with 13th pick in NFL draft
» Quay Walker selected with 22nd pick in NFL draft
» Devonte Wyatt selected with 28th pick in NFL draft
» Lewis Cine selected with 32nd pick in NFL draft
General manager Brian Gutekunst said the Packers didn’t set out to emphasize “Georgia boys” in the draft, it just kind of worked out that way. He said while they had targeted 6-foot-4, 240-pound Walker as the inside linebacker they needed, Green Bay was surprised to see Wyatt still available when they picked again six slots later at No. 28.
“I think he’s such a disruptor on the line of scrimmage,” Gutekunst told reporters. “He can play the 1(-technique defensive tackle), he can play the 3, he’s a dynamic pass rusher. His ability to scrape and get to the ball in the run game is almost linebacker-like.”
There were some reservations about the 24-year-old Wyatt because he’s older than most players in the draft. Wyatt spent a year in junior college before coming to Georgia, then surprised many by choosing to return for his second senior season offered to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national championship-winning Bulldogs were particularly happy about that decision. The 6-3, 304-pound Wyatt was a dominant and consistent force for Georgia up front, especially alongside his best friend Davis and Travon Walker.
Wyatt racked up 113 tackles and five sacks in 49 games (24 starts) over four seasons with the Bulldogs. Quay Walker had 139 tackles in four seasons with the Bulldogs, including 67 this past season as part of a three-linebacker rotation with fellow draft prospects Nakobe Dean and Channing Tindall.
Wyatt, for one, is just thrilled to know he’ll have a couple of friends to lean on when he moves to Wisconsin. He said Walker was one of the first to call him he was picked.
“We’re just so excited,” Wyatt said. “We’re just ready to go to Green Bay and help the team, learn the books and become great players for the Packers.”
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