Report: Potential first-round draft pick out for Senior Bowl with injury

NS_headshot_clearbackgroundby:Nick Schultz02/04/22

NickSchultz_7

Former Georgia defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt is hoping to make his case to become a first-round NFL Draft pick. He might need to wait a bit longer, though.

Wyatt injured his ankle during Senior Bowl practice on Wednesday and is out for Saturday’s game, according to ESPN’s Matt Miller. Miller added Wyatt had a “dominant” Day 1 practice.

The former Georgia standout had 29 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles as part of a dominant Bulldogs defense this past year. He helped Georgia become the top defense in the nation and was a big reason the Bulldogs won their first national championship in 41 years.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t project Wyatt in his first round of his Mock Draft 1.0, but NFL Network writer Daniel Jeremiah had him going No. 32 overall to the Green Bay Packers. It’ll be interesting to see how his draft stock changes if he can’t go in the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl is coming up Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.

Todd McShay believes one Georgia defender is being overlooked in NFL Draft

There are a few players from the Georgia Bulldogs dominant defense that are being looked at as a potential first round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. Linebacker Nakobe Dean and defensive tackle Jordan Davis get most of the attention, but ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay believes that defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt is one of the biggest sleepers in this year’s class.

Wyatt totaled 29 tackles this season with 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. In his four years at Georgia, he racked up 113 tackles with three passes defended, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. Despite playing on a loaded defensive front, McShay believes that Wyatt is the best of the bunch.

“Devonte Wyatt for Georgia, defensive tackle. We talked about Jordan Davis all season long. He’s 340 pounds, he’s big, he moves well for his size and he was getting more pass rush pressure. But Devonte Wyatt was probably the most consistent performer on that defensive front and he’s a little bit more of kind of that three technique,” McShay said. “He can get off a block, he can penetrate up the field.

Wyatt’s stats might not jump off of the stat sheet, but a lot of his contributions can be seen right away when watching Georgia games. McShay notes that Wyatt has all of the tools, and the numbers are still good enough to put him in consideration for the best in the class.