NFL Draft deep dive: Georgia's Salyer among the top guard prospects

Jamaree Salyer remembers both of the sacks he allowed last season. The best offensive linemen don't forget when they were beat. It's a little easier to remember, too, when it only happened twice.

Salyer, a Georgia lineman who played all five O-line spots during his career, allowed one against Alabama's Will Anderson in the SEC championship game and another against Alabama's Christian Harris in the national championship game.

Alabama tends to do that to teams. Playing in the SEC will prepare anyone for the next level. Salyer is ready to make that jump. He played a lot of left tackle as a junior and senior, but projects as a guard at the pro level. At 6-foot-3, 321 pounds, he's a bulldozer who doesn't quite have the height for tackle.

He's one of the top guard prospects in this year's draft. The Bears are in need of a guard after right guard James Daniels left via free agency. Salyer is one player the Bears could be keeping an eye on. He should be available to them when they select in the second round, and maybe even in the third.

Salyer said at last month's NFL Scouting Combine that teams have asked him about every position.

"I got questions about all five positions," Salyer said. "Everybody likes to put me in that box of an inside guy, because of quote-unquote 'lack of athleticism.' But I played in the SEC four years. I think I have only given up two sacks, to great players. I was called upon to hold my guy down, to do my job. I was there. I did it at the highest level that I could."

Former Georgia Bulldog and current Patriots tackle Isaiah Wynn was a big influence on Salyer. Salyer said Wynn helped recruit him to Georgia. The two are similarly sized, too, with Wynn measuring in at just 6-foot-2. That's pretty short for a tackle, but it hasn't stopped Wynn from starting 33 games in three years in New England. Salyer also worked out with New York Giants tackle Andrew Thomas, another former Bulldog, a lot during their pandemic downtime in 2020.

Salyer's versatility will be key. He didn't play a ton of center at Georgia, but it's a skill he has worked on.

"A lot of teams want to make sure they got a center," Salyer said. "I practice center every single day in practice. I snap all the time. I know in my mind that's a good thing in my tool bag."