Georgia Football: Deandre Baker First Dawg Drafted in 2019

Deandre Baker became the first UGA player and first from a Georgia Football program to be drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was also the first cornerback selected when the New York Giants made a trade for pick number 30.

Deandre Baker heads a 2019 Georgia Football class, that could see up to eight Bulldogs be drafted. Baker gets the honors of being the first cornerback selected, despite many experts ranking him third on their draft boards. Greedy Williams of LSU was expected by many to be the first cornerback drafted, because of his length and speed combination. Atl All Day broke down the game of Greedy Williams in this scouting report. In the end, the New York Giants chose production over potential and physical attributes by selecting Baker.

Deandre Baker became a full-time starter for the Georgia Bulldogs as a junior in 2017, after playing just over half the snaps as a sophomore. In 2018, he was the best defensive back in college football, with the esteemed Jim Thorpe Award to prove it. Baker did such a great job taking away his opponents, that opposing teams would barely throw to their best wide receiver. He was First Team All American and First Team All ACC this past season, while not allowing a single touchdown. Even though teams rarely tested Deandre Baker, he was able to intercept five passes and break up another 19 in his last two seasons.

Deandre Baker was awarded a grade of 89.4 by ProFootball Focus, as their number three cornerback in this year’s draft class. His coverage grade of 90.0 ranked seventh best in the NCAA. Baker allowed a low catch percentage of 43.9 percent, while holding quarterbacks throwing at him to a paltry 40.2 qb rating. In the PFF advanced stat of yards per coverage snap allowed, Deandre Baker was number three among all draft eligible cornerbacks.

Pro Football Focus analyzed the selection of Deandre Baker in via their YouTube channel in this video:

Deandre Baker is a physical corner, who loves to rough up wide receivers at the line of scrimmage in press coverage. He has great instincts and timing. Deandre also has a fantastic feel for when to break on a football. The cons to his game are his physical limitations of height and speed. He also will need to be careful to avoid penalties at the pro level. For a detailed look at the strengths and weaknesses of Deandre Baker, read our Atl All Day pre-draft scouting report.

Now that Deandre Baker has been selected, Bulldogs fans are on watch to see who will be selected next. Fans of both the Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Falcons are hoping to see the first Dawg Drafted by Atlanta since 2011. I made a case for the Falcons to take a UGA player in this article. The Falcons currently are void of a second day pick after moving up for an additional round one pick.

Edge rusher D’Andre Walker along with wide receivers Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman are all good candidates to go in round two or three of the draft. Defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter, tight end Issac Nauta, running back Elijah Holyfield and wide receiver Terry Godwin could all possibly be selected in the last four rounds. We will be keeping a close eye on the Georgia Bulldogs players wherever they land. However with Atlanta having seven more picks in the last four rounds, hopefully we will get to see a Georgia Bulldogs favorite play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium many more times.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.