Happy NFL Draft season to everyone celebrating.
The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is scheduled to begin tonight, and while the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won’t be getting selected tonight, some of the best NFL players of the past 15-20 years have come from Atlanta and will be drafted in 2024. Was chosen. first round. Whether it’s Calvin Johnson (one of the best receivers of all time), Demaryius Thomas, or Derrick Morgan, the Yellow Jackets have had several impact players go through in the first round who have gone on to become great NFL players. I’ve let it happen. Current head coach Brent Key is working to get that back.
Let’s take a look back at Georgia Tech’s first-round picks.
1. Eddie Lee Ivery – 17th overall, 1979 (Green Bay Packers)
He played at Georgia Tech from 1975 to 1978 and is the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leader in single-game (356 vs. Air Force – November 11, 1998) and single-season (1,562 – 1978) rushing yards. It continues to exist. He also finished his career as the Jackets’ all-time leading rusher with 3,517 career yards and currently ranks third in Tech history in career rushing yards. He was selected 17th overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and rushed for 2,933 yards and 23 touchdowns in eight seasons (1979-1986) with the Packers. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in his 1982 year and graduated from Georgia Tech in 1992.
2. Kent Hill – 26th overall, 1979 (Los Angeles Rams)
Hill had a very successful NFL career as an offensive lineman from 1979 to 1987, twice being named second-team All-Pro (1980, 1985) and a five-time Pro Bowler (1980, 1982-). (1985). After his retirement, Hill served as director of student-athlete development from 1989 until 1998.
3. Marco Coleman – 12th overall, 1992 (Miami Dolphins)
From Georgia Tech Athletics:
Coleman played 14 seasons in the National Football League (1992-2005) after a Hall of Fame career at Georgia Tech (1989-91).
Coleman had 27.5 sacks and 50 tackles in just three seasons as an outside linebacker for the Yellow Jackets. These are both school records at the end of his playing career and rank fourth on the program’s all-time list. He appeared in only 34 college games. He was named first team All-America and All-Atlantic Coast Conference as a sophomore (1990) and junior (1991). As a sophomore in 1990, he led the ACC with 13 sacks and went 11-0-1, leading Georgia Tech to its fourth national championship with a 45-21 victory over Nebraska in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Contributed.
He played in the NFL for the Dolphins (1992-95), San Diego Chargers (1996-98), Washington Redskins (1999-2001), Jacksonville Jaguars (2002), Philadelphia Eagles (2003), and Denver Broncos. He continued to play for 14 seasons. (2004-05). He was named Sports Illustrated’s 1992 NFL Rookie of the Year with 84 tackles and six sacks, and had 610 tackles, 65.5 sacks and 18 forced fumbles in 14 professional seasons. He recorded a career-high 12 sacks with the Redskins in 2000 and earned a Pro Bowl berth.
He retired after the 2005 season.
4. Keith Brooking, 12th overall – 1998 (Atlanta Falcons)
From Falcaholic’s Evan Burchfield:
“At Georgia Tech, Brooking became the all-time leading tackler in Georgia Tech history with 467 tackles. He was voted team captain by his teammates and was a finalist for the prestigious Dick Butkus Award. In 1995, Brooking averaged 13.3 tackles per game, and in 1996 he recorded the second most tackles in the ACC with 13.4 tackles per game in a win over West Virginia in the Karquest Bowl. He finished his college career with an interception and 15 tackles.
Brooking was one of the best players in Georgia Tech history and went on to have a great career with the Atlanta Falcons.
5. Calvin Johnson, 2nd overall – 2007 (Detroit Lions)
From Pro Football HOF:
“Johnson was an immediate contributor to Chan Gailey’s offense with 48 catches, 837 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns in his first season in Atlanta. He was named ACC Rookie of the Year as a freshman. The weekly accolades helped Johnson earn first-team All-ACC honors as a freshman, a rare feat.
This momentum carried over into Johnson’s second season. He caught 54 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games, again earning him a spot on the All-ACC First Team.
Johnson entered his junior season with a lot of hype and was named to nearly every preseason list for the Biletnikoff Trophy and Heisman Trophy. He lived up to expectations, had his best season, and became one of the best Yellow Jackets of all time. Johnson had 76 catches for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning him a spot on the All-ACC First Team for the third consecutive year.
He was named ACC Player of the Year and won the Biletnikoff Award, but most knew his junior season would be his last at Georgia Tech. Johnson has been one of the most popular wide receiver prospects in over a decade, and the NFL has been calling his name.
georgia tech records
- Carrier acceptance yards – 2,927
- Receiving yards on season — 1,202
- Total touchdowns – 28
- Score a touchdown in a season — 15
- Career 100-yard games — 13
- Season 100-yard games — 7
Awards
- 2006 Biletnikov Award
- 2006 ACC Player of the Year Award
- Two-time U.S. first team member
- Three-time First Team All-ACC selection
- 2004 ACC Rookie of the Year
- Four-time ACC Rookie of the Week winner
6. Derrick Morgan, 16th overall – 2010 (Tennessee Titans)
From Georgia Tech Athletics:
A defensive end from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Morgan recorded 19.5 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss in three seasons (2007-2009) for the Yellow Jackets, leading Georgia Tech to back-to-back ACC Coastal Division titles in 2008 and 2009. led to.
As a junior in 2009, he recorded 12.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss, totals that still rank fourth and seventh in Georgia Tech history. In addition to his ACC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009, he was also selected to the All-American First Team. He remains the only Yellow Jacket ever to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Morgan entered the NFL Draft after his junior campaign and was selected 16th overall by the Tennessee Titans, making him the ninth highest pick in Tech history. He had 44.5 sacks and 306 tackles in nine NFL seasons (2010-2019), all with the Titans. He retired from professional football before the 2019 season. ”
7. Demaryius Thomas, 22nd overall – 2010 (Denver Broncos)
Thomas ranks in career receptions (113* – 10th), career receiving yards (2,135* – 6th), single-season receiving yards (950, 2009* – 7th), and career yards per reception (18.9* – 6th). (tied for 7th place), single-season yards per reception (25.1* – 2nd place), career touchdown receptions (13* – tied for 7th place), career 100-yard receiving games (6th-7th place), and with receptions Consecutive games (29* – tied for 4th) (per Georgia Tech Public Relations).
The Montrose, Ga., native owns two of Georgia Tech’s top 20 single-game receiving yards totals — 230 (2nd) against Duke in 2008 and Mississippi State in 2009. 174 yards against college (16th). Selected by the Denver Broncos with the 22nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft (the 10th NFL Draft pick in Georgia Tech history), Thomas had 724 receptions, 9,763 yards, and 63 receptions in 10 NFL seasons (2010-18) with the Broncos. Scored a touchdown. Houston Texans (2018) and New York Jets (2019). He was selected to the Pro Bowl five times and won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Broncos.