UGA’s Malcolm Mitchell, John Theus and Keith Marshall selected on day three of NFL draft

Malcolm Mitchell was Georgia’s leading receiver in an offense that didn’t throw the ball around too much during the 2015 season.

With his new team, Mitchell could soon see many more passes thrown his way.

The New England Patriots selected Mitchell in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick of the NFL draft Saturday. Mitchell was considered a fourth-round prospect coming out of January’s Senior Bowl, but did have the potential to move into the third round.

Mitchell joins a team with one of the greatest quarterbacks to every play the game in Tom Brady, although he’s set to serve a four-game suspension to start the 2016 season due to his role in the Deflategate scandal. Of course, that could change depending on the outcome of an inevitable upcoming appeal.

While Mitchell was a fourth-round selection, he will have every opportunity to work a role for himself on offense since New England’s top two receivers, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, are more suited for the slot. Mitchell primarily played outside at Georgia and showed his ability to win one-on-one battles during his final season. Mitchell also displays great short-area burst off the snap, which is a must in the New England passing game.

Another way Mitchell, a Valdosta native, could see the field early is on special teams, an area many rookies are expected to contribute on in New England.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick got a firsthand look at Mitchell at Georgia’s pro day as he was in attendance for it. Mitchell became the first Georgia player New England selected since taking Kade Weston in the seventh round in the 2010 draft.

In 2015, Mitchell finished with 58 catches for 865 yards and 5 touchdowns, despite the fact Georgia totaled only 2,406 yards through the air the entire season.

Mitchell saw some early success at Georgia but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in the season opener against Clemson in 2013. Mitchell missed that entire season and was limited in 2014. During that time period, Mitchell became an avid reader and joined a book club after a chance encounter at a local bookstore.

Mitchell, who admittedly entered college with a junior-high reading level, has since gone on to found his Read With Malcolm initiative to advocate literacy among school-age children. Mitchell is also a published author, having written the children’s book The Magician’s Hat.

Offensive tackle John Theus was the next Georgia player to go off the board Saturday as the San Francisco 49ers took him in the fifth round with the 145th overall selection. Theus, who played the 2015 season with a shoulder injury, was named one of Georgia’s four permanent captains for the season. Mitchell also earned that distinction alongside Theus.

Theus started the first eight games of the 2015 season at left tackle before moving to right tackle for the remainder of the year. Theus, a former five-star recruit coming out of high school in Jacksonville, Florida, started 48 games in his four-year career.

Theus’ selection ends a 27-year drought by the 49ers when it comes to selecting Georgia players. The previous Georgia player San Francisco selected in the NFL draft was running back Keith Henderson in 1989.

Running back Keith Marshall had to wait a little longer than expected. Projected as a fifth- or sixth-rounder, Marshall didn’t receive a phone call until the Washington Redskins selected him in the seventh round with the 242nd overall pick. If Marshall makes Washington’s 53-man roster, he could be a viable third-down back option considering the options behind projected starter Matt Jones.

Marshall created some buzz after running an official 4.31 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February, the fastest of any player there.

“He brings an element not many people can bring to the running back position,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden told the Washington media. “He could be a force for us.”

In total, Georgia had five players selected in the 2016 draft. Georgia’s second player off the board was fellow outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who went 83rd overall to the New York Jets in the third round.

Georgia draft hopefuls who were not selected include inside linebacker Jake Ganus, nose tackle Chris Mayes, defensive end Sterling Bailey, fullback Quayvon Hicks, kicker Marshall Morgan and long-snapper Nathan Theus.

The final day of the draft followed Georgia getting two players in the first three rounds. The Chicago Bears traded up from No. 11 to No. 9 to take Leonard Floyd in the first round, which appeared to be a move to snag him so the New York Giants would be unable to do so at No. 10.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 6:48 PM with the headline "UGA’s Malcolm Mitchell, John Theus and Keith Marshall selected on day three of NFL draft."