Georgia football's Darnell Washington falls to third round. Kelee Ringo goes in fourth.
Tight end Darnell Washington and cornerback Kelee Ringo declared for the NFL Draft after three seasons with Georgia football.
The decisions didn’t cause much stir. Both drew some first-round chatter in the lead up to this week’s draft, but were considered more likely to go in the second round.
That didn’t happen.
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Washington was selected in the third round Friday night with the 93rd overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, joining UGA teammate and offensive tackle Broderick Jones and former UGA wide receiver George Pickens on the club.
Ringo was taken early on Saturday when the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him with pick No. 105. The Eagles already drafted defensive tackle Jalen Carter and outside linebacker Nolan Smith in the first round on Thursday from Georgia.
The 6-foot-7, 264-pound Washington was NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah’s top player available and ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s No. 3 entering the third round.
He was the eighth tight end selected.
"As I was sitting there, other teams picked these other tight ends and I just started narrowing down my options in my head," Washington said in a session with reporters from Pittsburgh. "I’m not going to say I knew it was going to be the Steelers,but I had a good feeling. One of the best feelings in the world was just seeing my phone ring."
The Steelers said they were happy that the physical Washington was still there.
“It’s all over the tape,” Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “He’s a giant human being who takes pride in blocking, he enjoys being a blocker. I do think he can catch balls. They had so many weapons at Georgia, I’m not sure his totals are what you might think they could be but he is definitely a blocker."
Washington had 28 catches for 454 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Washington was rated the No. 33 overall prospect by the Jeremiah and No. 39 by ESPN’s Todd McShay. Ringo was 47 by Jeremiah and 50 by McShay.
According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson of KPRC in Houston Washington, “has been pushed down on some NFL teams' draft boards due to a knee issue," citing league sources. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport cited swollen knees at the NFL combine.
"I feel great man, something they probably had concern with is probably the knees because I am tall and a bigger guy but, they’re talking about some knee swelling," Washington said. "For me, I’ve never had injuries with my knees, knock on wood. I never tore anything in the knee. I had surgery on the right one, but it was just to clean some cartilage up. There was no tear, no break, no fracture, no nothing. "
Washington also missed the start of the 2021 season with a foot injury and battled an ankle injury during the College Football Playoff this past season.
Washington’s agent, Kyle McCarthy, did not return a message asking about medical concerns.
Cleo Floyd, who represents Ringo, said in a text message about the cornerback: “No medical concerns at all.”
Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean also slid to the third round and pick No. 91 in 2022 when the Eagles selected him.
Washington gives Georgia a tight end drafted for a fifth straight year, the only program to do that, according to UGA.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA football's Darnell Washington and Kelee Ringo fall in NFL Draft
