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NFL Draft: UGA cornerback Deandre Baker gets Round 1 reprieve from N.Y. Giants

LSU's Greedy Williams and Washington's Byron Murphy got more publicity heading into the draft ... but Baker was the first corner off the NFL shelf.

ATLANTA — It remains to be seen if Deandre Baker becomes the most prolific cornerback of the 2019 NFL Draft class – as he predicted after last month's UGA Pro Day.

But one thing cannot be disputed: Baker took full honors Thursday night, serving as the first and only cornerback to come out of the first round

That's right. Heading into this weekend, the mock-draft pundits were effusive in their praise for LSU's Greedy Williams and Washington's Byron Murphy, confidently identifying 'em as the top-ranked cornerbacks of the '19 class.

But such subjective protocol meant nothing to the New York Giants, who wasted little time in scooping up Baker with the 30th pick.

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Which brings us to this: The Giants had traded for that 30th slot, suggesting they were in search of the perfect landing spot for Baker (5-foot-11, 193 pounds, 4.52 40-yard dash time). 

Around this same time, the Falcons had moved back into Round 1, presumably to snag Baker.

(Our own Alex Glaze said this had been the hot rumor in Flowery Branch. The Falcons were apparently moving heaven and earth to secure Baker on Day 1.)

But it wasn't meant to be, either through happenstance or unfortunate planning. Either way, Atlanta traded back into Round 1 and pulled the trigger on University of Washington offensive tackle Kaleb McGary.

With Baker off the board, UGA fans can turn their Day 2 attention to other Dawgs stars, such as receiver Mecole Hardman, defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter, receiver Riley Ridley and tailback Elijah Holyfield, among others. 

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