The first Butkus Award winner in Georgia football history became the first Southeastern Conference player selected during Thursday night's opening round of the NFL draft.
Roquan Smith, who racked up 137 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for last season's SEC champions, was selected by the Chicago Bears with the eighth overall pick. The 6-foot-1, 236-pound inside linebacker is the highest Georgia defensive player to be taken in a draft since tackle Johnathan Sullivan went sixth to New Orleans in 2003.
"I am so excited," Smith said on the official Bears website. "I can't wait to get up to Chicago and go to work. You're getting by far the best player in this draft."
Smith is the second top-10 pick from Georgia in three years to be selected by the Bears. With the ninth overall selection of the 2016 draft, Chicago tabbed outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who has totaled 67 tackles and 11.5 sacks through his first two professional seasons.
Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who had two fumble recoveries in last December's win over Auburn in the SEC title game, was the first SEC player taken Thursday night in the NFL draft. Smith went eighth overall to Chicago.The second SEC player taken Thursday night was versatile Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who went 11th to the Miami Dolphins.
Fitzpatrick clinched a 10th consecutive year in which the Crimson Tide produced a first-round pick, extending a run that is second only to the 14-year stretch the University of Miami enjoyed from 1995 to 2008. The 6-foot, 204-pound Fitzpatrick became the first Tide first-round pick of the Dolphins since defensive back Don McNeal went 21st overall in 1980.
"He's a unique kid," Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters Thursday night in Miami. "He is unbelievably smart and has impeccable character. This is a player we felt we could not pass up."
Said Fitzpatrick on a conference call: "My dream wasn't just to make it to the NFL but to be a great player in the NFL. This is just the beginning."
Alabama didn't have to wait long for its second selection, as defensive tackle Da'Ron Payne went 13th to the Washington Redskins. Payne is the second Tide defensive lineman in as many years to get scooped up in the first round by the Redskins, with Jonathan Allen having been picked 17th overall last April.
The selections of Payne and Allen mark the first time Washington has chosen players from the same program in the first rounds of consecutive drafts. The Redskins used their second-round pick last year on Alabama defensive end Ryan Anderson.
"Come on home baby!!!!" Anderson tweeted Thursday night at Payne, who was a star of February's NFL combine when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.95 seconds at 6-2 and 311 pounds.
Going fourth among SEC players Thursday night was Arkansas center Frank Ragnow, who was selected 21st by the Detroit Lions. The 6-5, 312-pound Ragnow was a three-year starter for the Razorbacks.
Linebacker Rashaan Evans became the third Alabama player and the fifth SEC player drafted when he was picked 22nd by the Tennessee Titans.
"Today was a roller-coaster," Evans said in a news conference. "My mom actually fainted on the red carpet, so I had to make sure she was OK. We were waiting, and we thought there were some teams who might pick me but didn't pick me.
"When I got the call from Tennessee, it was one of the greatest moments of my life next to the national championships that I won."
Georgia had its second player taken when New England chose offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn with the 23rd pick. The 6-3, 313-pound Wynn played left tackle for the Bulldogs last season but is projected as a guard for the Patriots.
New England used its 31st pick to select Georgia running back Sony Michel, giving the Bulldogs three first-round picks for the first time in program history. Bill Belichick, who has coached the Patriots to eight Super Bowls and to five Super Bowl titles, attended Georgia's pro day last month.
South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst gave the SEC seven of the top 25 players when he was picked 25th by the Baltimore Ravens. Hurst received a $400,000 signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012 and spent a couple of years in their farm system before shifting to football.
The Atlanta Falcons tabbed Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley with the 26th pick - the fourth Tide player taken. Alabama also had four first-round picks in the 2011, 2012 and 2017 drafts.
Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan was picked 29th by the Jacksonville Jaguars, so the SEC wound up with 10 first-round picks. The ACC was next with six first-round selections, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 each had four.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.