Live updates: Georgia sets NFL draft record with 15 players selected

Georgia set an NFL record Saturday for a seven-round draft when it had 15 players get selected, going over the top before the final round even arrived.

It happened after back-to-back picks in the sixth round.

First, the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams selected cornerback Derion Kendrick, the Clemson transfer at pick 212, and the Atlanta Falcons selected tight end John Fitzpatrick with pick 213.

That tops LSU in 2020 and Ohio State in 2004 for the most picks since the draft went to seven rounds in 1994. Texas had 17 in 1984 when there were 12 rounds.

Back in February, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said it would be “unrealistic,” to think Georgia would reach 15.

“Our job is to develop them and make sure they're better people when they leave,” Smart said at UGA Pro Day in March. “I think each one of these kids will tell you they're more successful because of the work ethic they were able to achieve here. We had some really good coaches to help coach them up and some really good players to help play. And I think it's very unique to have this kind of collection of talent. You don't have that every year.”

Georgia topped its program record from last year when its 10th player was selected when running back Zamir White went in the fourth round to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Check back for updates throughout the day.

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5:25 p.m.|More on Kendrick and Fitzpatrick going in sixth round

Cornerback Derion Kendrick was the eighth Georgia defensive player to go in this draft. The Bulldogs seven defensive players drafted in the first three rounds was the most in the modern era, besting six from Alabama’s in 2017 and LSU in 2013.

Kendrick started every game in his one Georgia season after transferring from Clemson. He had 41 tackles and 3 pass breakups and was named defensive MVP of the Orange Bowl win over Michigan.

He was asked what he would bring to the team that picked him.

“Just bring energy to whatever team I get drafted to," he said. "Just being a physical type guy with the experience to come up to tackle somebody. Some corners don’t like to that but I’m one of those corners that’s willing.”

Kendrick had off-field issues at Clemson and an arrest at his hometown of Rock Hill after he parted ways with the Tigers, but had an unventful stay at Georgia except for what he did on the field.

“All that stuff is behind me," Kendrick said. "I made some bad decisions but just growing up as a person maturity-wise, communicating with my coaches over time. Those are things I had to work on.”

Fitzpatrick had surgery on both feet after the season to repair stress fractures. He knew about the injuries before the season but waited until after to have surgery.

The Marist School product saw action in every game, starting seven on a team where freshman tight end Brock Bowers was a star.

The 6-foot- 7 Fitzpatrick had six catches for 83 yards but was big in the blocking game.

He left Georgia after his redshirt junior season.

4:21 p.m.|Chargers take Jamaree Salyer

Five picks after his former Georgia teammate Justin Shaffer was selected, Jamaree Salyer went to Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round with pick No. 195.

The 6-foot-3, 321-pound Salyer started all but one of his 23 starts at Georgia at tackle including 20 at left tackle where he started the past two seasons. He played at tackle even though he’s long projected as an interior player for the NFL.

“Everybody likes to put me in the box of an inside guy because of the quote, unquote lack of athleticism, but I played in the SEC for four years, a good four years and I think I only gave up two sacks to great players,” he said.

The former five-star from Pace Academy in Atlanta joins a long list of offensive linemen drafted who were recruited by Sam Pittman to Georgia: Shaffer, Ben Cleveland, Trey Hill, Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson and Solomon Kindley.

4:08 p.m.|Falcons select OG Justin Shaffer

The wait is over for Falcons fans that complain about Atlanta not taking Georgia guys.

Atlanta selected offensive guard Justin Shaffer with pick No. 190. Shaffer is from just outside Atlanta in Ellenwood and played at Cedar Grove High.

He's the first Georgia player selected by the Falcons since linebacker Akeem Dent in 2011.

Shaffer was the 11th guard selected.

The 6-foot-3 ½, 314-pound Shaffer was a 3-star recruit who ended up starting 27 games for Georgia including every game during the national championship season.

1:27 p.m. |Jake Camarda grabbed in fourth round by Tampa Bay

Jake Camarda not only is an NFL draft pick but he went relatively early in the fourth round to Tampa Bay with pick No. 133. The Georgia product was the second punter to go after Penn State's Jordan Stout also in the fourth round.

Camarda is Georgia’s career punting leader with a 45.8 average, edging out 2009 Ray Guy Award winner Drew Butler’s 45.4.

Camarda is Georgia’s first punter to be drafted since since Spike Jones in 1970 in the fourth round and the first specialist to be drafted since kicker Brandon Coutu in 2008 in the seventh round.

“It’s definitely a goal,” Camarda said about being drafted. “To be completely honest with you, a lot of guys go a lot of different routes. I feel being a drafted guy just shows off the rip that a team really cares about you a lot and they have a lot of respect for you and your game. That’s definitely a priority.”

The Norcross native was a first-team All-SEC selection by the coaches in 2021. He punted 47 times for an average of 46.7 yards a punt during the season and held the Georgia punting job for all four of his seasons.

Camarda is the first Georgia player drafted by Tampa Bay since defensive back Jermaine Phillips in 2002.

He's the 11th Georgia player drafted.

1:00 p.m. |Raiders pick RB Zamir White in the fourth round

‘RBU’ has another player drafted as Zamir White goes to the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round with picks No. 122.

White became the second Georgia running back to be taken. James Cook went in the second round Friday to the Bills.

White, who sustained an ACL tear at the end of his senior season in Laurinburg, N.C. and then in 2018 in the preseason, topped the Bulldogs in rushing each of the past seasons after overcoming two ACL tears.

The 5-foot-11, 214-pound White rushed for 856 yards and 11 touchdowns in the 2021 season. He finished his Georgia career with 2,043 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns.

The Raiders declined the fifth-year option on Josh Jacobs so there is opportunity for White.

White is just the third Georgia player ever drafted by the Raiders, joining Matt Stinchcomb in 1999 and Quentin Moses in 2007.

White was the eight running back selected in the draft. Cook was third.

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Where will Georgia football players go in NFL Draft late rounds?