Should Tennessee safety Eric Berry get picked by the Kansas City Chiefs with the fifth overall selection — or before that — he would become the first defensive back tabbed in the top five since the late Sean Taylor went fifth to Washington in 2004. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper believes players of Berry’s ability are becoming increasingly valuable.
“Back in the day you could say it was a different game,” Kiper said, “but now with the way everyone is throwing the football, you see how important Ed Reed is to the Baltimore Ravens and (Troy) Polamalu is to Pittsburgh and (Brian) Dawkins when he was in Philadelphia and now in Denver. You see all these safeties around the league who are so critical to the success of their defense.
“Eric Berry can do so much for you. He can play corner. His ball skills are incredible. He didn’t have the interceptions this past year, because people identified where he was and stayed away from that area.”
Bulldogs must wait
Georgia’s 8-5 season that culminated in the Independence Bowl could be viewed as exciting compared with what may transpire for the Bulldogs in this week’s draft. There are no first-round possibilities a year after quarterback Matthew Stafford went first overall to Detroit and running back Knowshon Moreno went 12th to Denver, and there may not be any second- or third-round selections as well.