Happy NFL Draft season to all who celebrate.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is going to commence tonight and while there are not going to be any Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets selected tonight, some of the best NFL players of the last 15-20 years have come from Atlanta and were selected in the first round. Whether it was Calvin Johnson (one of the greatest receivers of all time), Demaryius Thomas, or Derrick Morgan, the Yellow Jackets have had several impact players go in the first round and turn out to be good NFL players. That is something that current head coach Brent Key is working to get back toward.

Lets take a look back at the first round picks that Georgia Tech has produced.

Eddie Prokop– No. 4 Overall, 1945 (Boston Yanks)

In the 1944 Sugar Bowl Prokop led his #13 Yellow Jackets to 20–18 victory over #15 ranked Tulsa. In that game, he rushed for 199 yards, threw a touchdown, and kicked two extra points.[3] The Sugar Bowl did not award a game MVP until 1948. (Per Wikipedia)

Larry Morris– No. 7 Overall, 1955 (LA Rams)

Morris was a four-year starter and a two-way player at center and linebacker positions for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Morris was also selected as three times first-team All-SEC and a team captain as a senior. He played during coach Bobby Dodd’s most successful seasons at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets had a 40-5-2 record over Morris’ four seasons, won two SEC titles, four bowl games, and a share of the 1952 national championship with a 12–0 record. In his final game as a Yellow Jacket against rival Georgia in Athens on November 27, 1954, he played the entire game and was credited with 24 tackles as his team won 7–3. He was later named to the All-SEC 25-year team spanning 1950–1974 and in 1992 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, one of 12 Tech players there (per Wikipedia)

Rufus Gutherie– No. 10 Overall, 1963 (LA Rams)

Eddie Lee Ivery- No. 17 overall, 1979 (Green Bay Packers)

He played at Georgia Tech from 1975-78 and remains the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leader in single-game (356 vs. Air Force – Nov. 11, 1998) and single-season (1,562 – 1978) rushing yards. He also finished his career as the Jackets’ all-time leading rusher with 3,517 career yards and still ranks third in Tech history in career rushing yardage. He went on to be selected No. 17 overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1979 NFL Draft and rushed for 2,933 yards and 23 touchdowns in eight seasons with the Packers (1979-86). He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 and graduated from Georgia Tech in 1992.

Kent Hill- No. 26 Overall, 1979 (Los Angeles Rams)

Hill had a super successful NFL Career as an offensive lineman from 1979-1987, becoming a second team All-Pro twice (1980, 1985) and was a five-time pro bowler (1980, 1982-1985). After he retired, Hill was the director of student athlete development from 1989-1998.

Marco Coleman- No. 12 Overall , 1992 (Miami Dolphins)

From Georgia Tech Athletics:

Coleman played 14 seasons in the National Football League (1992-2005) after his hall-of-fame career at Georgia Tech (1989-91)

Coleman racked up 27.5 sacks and 50 tackles for loss in just three seasons as an outside linebacker for the Yellow Jackets, which were both school records at the end of his playing career and remain ranked fourth in the program’s all-time annals despite the fact that he played in only 34 collegiate 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 helped Georgia Tech claim its fourth national championship with an 11-0-1 campaign and a convincing 45-21 win over Nebraska in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

He went on to play 14 seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins (1992-95), San Diego Chargers (1996-98), Washington Redskins (1999-2001), Jacksonville Jaguars (2002), Philadelphia Eagles (2003) and Denver Broncos (2004-05). He was named Sports Illustrated’s 1992 NFL Rookie of the Year after tallying 84 tackles and six sacks and went on to record 610 tackles, 65.5 sacks and 18 forced fumbles in 14 pro seasons. He earned a spot in the Pro Bowl after registering a career-high 12 sacks for the Redskins in 2000.

He retired after the 2005 season.

Keith Brooking, No. 12 Overall- 1998 (Atlanta Falcons)

From Evan Birchfield at the Falcaholic:

“At Georgia Tech, Brooking became the all-time leading tackler in Georgia Tech history with 467 tackles. He was voted a team captain by his teammates and was a finalist for the prestigious Dick Butkus Award. Brooking averaged 13.3 tackles per game in 1995 and in 1996 he had the second-most tackles per game in the ACC with 13.4 per game. His collegiate career ended with a victory over West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl, where he recorded an interception and 15 tackles.”

Brooking is one of the best players in Georgia Tech history and went on to have a fantastic career for the Atlanta Falcons.

Calvin Johnson, No. 2 overall- 2007 (Detroit Lions)

From ProFootballHOF:

“Johnson was an immediate contributor to Chan Gailey’s offense, recording 48 catches, 837 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in his first season in Atlanta. He was named ACC Rookie of the Week four times as a freshman and immediately garnered national attention. The week-by-week accolades helped Johnson earn first-team All-ACC honors as a freshman, a rare accomplishment.

This momentum carried into Johnson’s sophomore season. He caught 54 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games, again earning a spot on the All-ACC first team.

Johnson entered his junior season with a lot of hype, appearing on almost every preseason list for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy. He lived up to the expectations and produced his best season, becoming one of the greatest Yellow Jackets of all time. Johnson recorded 76 catches for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns, production that earned him a third consecutive first-team All-ACC bid.

He was named the ACC Player of the Year and won the Biletnikoff Award, with most knowing that his junior season would be his final at Georgia Tech. Johnson was one of the most popular wide receiver prospects in over a decade, and the NFL was calling his name.

Georgia Tech Records

• Career Receiving Yards — 2,927
• Receiving Yards in a Season — 1,202
• Career Receiving Touchdowns — 28
• Receiving Touchdowns in a Season — 15
• Career 100-Yard Games — 13
• 100-Yard Games in a Season — 7

Awards

• 2006 Biletnikoff Award
• 2006 ACC Player of the Year
• Two-time first-team All-American
• Three-time first-team All-ACC
• 2004 ACC Rookie of the Year
• Four-time ACC Rookie of the Week

Derrick Morgan, No. 16 Overall- 2010 (Tennessee Titans)

From Georgia Tech Athletics:

“A defensive end from Coatesville, Pa., Morgan recorded 19.5 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss in three seasons for the Yellow Jackets (2007-09) and helped lead Georgia Tech to back-to-back ACC Coastal Division titles in 2008 and 2009.

He had a breakout campaign as a junior in ’09 when he amassed 12.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss, totals which still rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in Georgia Tech history. In addition to being the 2009 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, he was a consensus first-team All-American. He remains the only Yellow Jacket to ever be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Morgan entered the NFL Draft following his junior campaign and was selected No. 16 overall by the Tennessee Titans, making him the ninth-highest selection in Tech history. He went on to register 44.5 sacks and 306 tackles in nine NFL seasons (2010-19), all with the Titans. He retired from professional football prior to the 2019 season.”

Demaryius Thomas, No. 22 Overall- 2010 (Denver Broncos)

Thomas ranks among the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leaders in career receptions (113* – 10th), career receiving yards (2,135* – sixth), single-season receiving yards (950, 2009* – seventh), career yards per reception (18.9* – tied for sixth), single-season yards per reception (25.1* – second), career touchdown receptions (13* – tied for seventh), career 100-yard receiving games (6 – seventh) and consecutive games with a reception (29* – tied for fourth) (Per Georgia Tech PR). 

The Montrose, Ga., native owns two of Georgia Tech’s top 20 single-game receiving yardage totals – 230 vs. Duke in 2008 (second) and 174 vs. Mississippi State in 2009 (16th). Selected No. 22 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos (10th-highest NFL Draft pick in Georgia Tech history), Thomas amassed 724 receptions for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns in 10 NFL seasons with the Broncos (2010-18), Houston Texans (2018) and New York Jets (2019). He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Broncos.