McConkey attempts to expand Georgia’s legacy at position
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Former Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey rushed for two touchdowns on just seven carries in 2022.
No longer is Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey an 165-pound high school senior. His running exploits as a prep level quarterback created a much larger image. Now an 185-pound NFL prospect, can he become the school’s highest pick at the position in over a decade?
The list of productive receivers at Georgia dates back to 1982 New Orleans Saints first-round pick Lindsay Scott. Scott, however, is best known for his legendary game-winning catch versus Florida back in 1980.
Andre Hastings, a 1992 third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, shined in Super Bowl XXX with 10 receptions. Hastings had a productive eight-year NFL run with three different teams.
Another third-round pick, Hines Ward, a former college quarterback-turned-receiver, became one of the NFL’s best. Ward -a Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XL MVP- finished his 12-year NFL career with 12,083 yards receiving (85 TDs). He is now the wide receivers coach at Arizona State after a head coaching stint in the XFL for the San Antonio Brahmas in 2023.
Perhaps the best receiver to come out of the school in the last decade-and-a-half was A.J. Green. Green ranked as one of the school’s top all-time recruits back in 2008. The seven-time Pro Bowler was the last Bulldogs receiver to go in the first round (2011 NFL Draft, 4th overall, Cincinnati Bengals).
Since then, there have been a number of mid-to-late round picks but just two second rounders. Mecole Hardman and George Pickens both went in that round in the last five years.
So what separates McConkey from the rest of the pack?
Is it the speed at which he accelerates in-and-out of breaks? Per CFBstats, McConkey averaged 14.3 yards per reception the last two seasons on 24 third down receptions.
The cagey skills he uses to evade tacklers were often employed by the ‘Dawgs. McConkey rushed for two touchdowns on seven carries in 2022 and averaged 19 yards per carry. That figure included a 70-yard touchdown scamper versus Mississippi State. On a reverse from the slot No. 2 position, he outran Bulldogs corner Decamerion Richardson, a 4.36-second burner in the 40-yard dash.
But those numbers don’t quantify his impact in other places. He aligned as the R3 for the Bulldogs kickoff team back in 2021. And he averaged almost 12 yards per punt return during the 2022 campaign.
And whether he’s making a kid’s Christmas by giving him a jersey or spending countless hours serving the Athens community, McConkey delivers. The 2023 Wueffel Trophy Award winner was also selected as an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member.
We go inside McConkey’s overall impact for the Bulldogs in our 2024 NFL Draft preview.
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