ATHENS, Ga. _ One of the narratives about Georgia's Isaiah Wilson going into the draft as an underclassmen is he should've stayed in college another year in order to improve his draft status. As it turns out, he couldn't have moved up all that far.
Wilson became the Bulldogs' second first-rounder _ and second tackle _ selected in Thursday's NFL draft.
The 6-foot-6, 350-pound redshirt sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., went to the Tennessee Titans with the 29th pick overall. That came 25 spots after his friend and linemate at Georgia, Andrew Thomas, who went fourth to the New York Giants.
Both tackles were recruited to Georgia by former offensive line coach Sam Pittman. Pittman was named Arkansas head coach in December.
Despite signing with Georgia as a 5-star prospect out of Poly Prep Country Day School in 2017, Wilson was redshirted his freshman season in Athens. Arriving at more than 350 pounds, Wilson had a difficult time adjusting to Georgia's stifling heat and humidity in his first preseason camp.
Ironically, it was Thomas who beat out Wilson for the right-tackle job. After left tackle Isaiah Wynn graduated and was drafted in the first round by New England, Thomas moved to left tackle and Wilson took over at right tackle, where he dominated in the run game. Wilson started in all 25 games he played after that, missing three last season with an ankle injury.
The first round ended Thursday night without any other Georgia players being selected. Many draft experts projected running back D'Andre Swift as a mid-first rounder. But the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs selected LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the final pick of the opening round, making him the only running back to go in the opening 32 picks.
