The Georgia Bulldogs defense put together a historic year and capped that off by having the most defensive players ever selected in Round 1 of an NFL Draft.

Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs won their first National Championship in 41 years and a lot of that had to do with how elite his defense was. With names like Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, and Lewis Cine, the Bulldogs were able to successfully exploit teams on defense in multiple facets, and that ultimately lead them to the promised land.

Ahead of Thursday’s Round 1 of the NFL Draft, the Bulldogs had a chance to make history and they did exactly that, with Walker, Davis, Quay Walker, Devontae Wyatt, and Cine all selected in the first round.

Walker was the first overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by Davis 13th to the Philadelphia Eagles, Q. Walker 22nd and Wyatt 28th to the Green Bay Packers, while Cine went to the Minnesota Vikings to close out Round 1 at No. 32.

The record was previously set by Miami (2004) and Florida State (2006), so Smart’s program should reap recruiting benefits of having this many players selected early on in the draft. The number also could have easily been higher, but no one opted to select Nakobe Dean in Round 1, who likely won’t last long on the board when Round 2 kicks off on Friday.

There are some other Bulldogs that likely warrant draft selections as well, specifically wide receiver George Pickens, who likely would have had his name called last night if it wasn’t for an injury-filled 2021 season Of course, that’s on the other side of the ball, but this is an electric wide receiver that knows how to make game-changing plays and should be a primary target for whichever quarterback ultimately gets to throw to him.

Other members of the championship team for the Bulldogs that will warrant consideration in Round 2 and beyond include OG Jamaree Salyer, LB Channing Tindall, RB James Cook, and CB Derion Kendrick.

Smart and the Bulldogs were finally able to get over the championship hump last season and a lot of the key players from that squad reaped the benefits during Round 1 of the NFL Draft.