The Atlanta Falcons don’t have a great recent history of taking former Georgia players, especially at the top of the NFL Draft.
Over the 10 NFL drafts, only three Georgia players have been drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and all have come off the board in the sixth round.
But ESPN’s Matt Miller has that changing in a big way with the 2025 NFL Draft, as he has Mykel Williams landing with the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 15 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.
Williams is one of four Georgia players that Miller has being taken in the first two rounds of this year’s NFL draft.
"The Falcons had only 31 sacks in 2024, the second fewest in the NFL," Miller wrote. “That has to change in Raheem Morris' second season as the coach. Williams is right in the team’s backyard at Georgia and flashes the power, speed and production that generally excites front offices.”
Williams, a Columbus, Ga., native, arrived at Georgia as a 5-star prospect and led the team in sacks during his freshman season.
He was a three-year contributor for the Bulldogs, notching either 4.5 and 5.0 sacks in all three years in Athens. An early season ankle injury kept him from being truly dominant this past season but he was at his best in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Falcons play. In the SEC Championship game against Texas, Williams had 2.0 sacks in a Georgia win.
Atlanta did take Georgia defensive lineman Zion Logue in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Prior to that, the Falcons took John FitzPatrick and Justin Shaffer in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Drafting Williams with the No. 15 overall pick would be a significantly greater investment.
Atlanta did have former Bulldogs Lorenzo Carter and Charlie Woerner on their 2024 roster.
As for the other Bulldogs coming off the board in the first two rounds, Miller has outside linebacker Jalon Walker landing with the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall pick.
Safety Malaki Starks is projected to land with the New York Giants with the No. 34 overall pick. The Los Angeles Chargers took Ladd McConkey with the No. 34 overall pick in last year’s NFL draft and he authored an extremely productive rookie season.
The fourth Bulldog to be taken in Miller’s mock draft is former Georgia center Jared Wilson. He is slated to land with the Detroit Lions with the No. 60 overall pick.
Georgia had five players taken in the first two rounds of last year’s NFL draft. No program has had more players taken in the previous five NFL drafts than Georgia, who has had 48 players taken over that span. The Bulldogs are once again expected to have double digit players taken in this year’s NFL draft.
The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is set to take place on April 24, with the event wrapping up on Saturday, April 26.