Georgia has lots to do this offseason, but one fix is essential to rebound in 2025

Georgia was very un-Georgia this season. Eleven wins, sure, but far from the behemoth we’ve witnessed in years past from Kirby Smart.

The Bulldogs got up and running in 2017, when they made the national championship game but lost to Alabama. That year, they ranked second nationally in Game on Paper‘s opponent-adjusted net EPA per play metric. In 2018, the Dawgs ranked eighth in that same metric. In 2019, 13th. In 2021, they ranked first. In 2022, they ranked third. In 2023, they ranked sixth.

That specific metric has been rather outstanding at predicting the final 4. The final team left standing after the College Football Playoff has ranked inside the top 3 in net EPA per play in each of the previous 7 seasons. The top 4 teams in the metric are the 4 remaining teams alive in this year’s Playoff. And 64% of the teams selected to the 4-team Playoff over the previous 7 seasons ranked inside the top 5.

In 2024, Georgia ranked 45th in opponent-adjusted net EPA per play.

The defense wasn’t up to the standard, and the Bulldogs’ offense wasn’t anywhere close to good enough to compensate for the difference.

The reason why isn’t all that colorful. Georgia needs better personnel.

In 2023, Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers combined for 86 receptions. Georgia didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver, but it had 2 pass-catchers that forced defenses to always account for them. Bowers was a first-round NFL Draft pick. McConkey was taken just moments after the second round began.

As NFL rookies, both players produced 1,000-yard seasons. McConkey led the Chargers in targets and receptions by a wide margin. Bowers finished third in the NFL in receptions while rewriting the league’s record books.

Georgia had no one to replace either.

To be fair to Smart, who exactly replaces a generational tight end? Bowers is only the eighth tight end this century to be a top-15 NFL Draft pick. While a collection of tight ends can attempt to make up for Bowers in aggregate, it was the singular presence that impacted defenses. And Georgia isn’t known for pumping out NFL receivers. When McConkey was taken with the 34th pick, he became the highest-drafted Georgia receiver since AJ Green in 2011.

There are reasonable excuses for why the 2 weren’t replaced, but Georgia suffered in their absence all the same, and if the Bulldogs are going to rebound in 2025, finding a few skill players who can actually threaten defenses has to be the top priority of the offseason.

If Smart is to stick with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, he has to hit some home runs in the transfer portal. Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie could be all-conference tight ends with another play-caller; if Bobo is still running the show, Georgia needs an outside guy or 2.

McConkey and Bowers absorbed more than a quarter of all Georgia targets in 2023. In 108 combined targets, PFF debited them with 5 combined drops.

Georgia’s top 3 receivers this season — Dominic Lovett, Dillon Bell, and Arian Smith — were debited with 21 drops between them. Lovett and Smith also each lost fumbles and committed multiple penalties.

Carson Beck didn’t have reliable options at receiver. At least, not options he could wholeheartedly trust. That was obvious to anyone who watched him throughout the year — particularly during his midseason slump. He put it all on his shoulders. And Georgia suffered because of that.

When Gunner Stockton stepped in for Beck during the CFP quarterfinal game against Notre Dame, he threw for 234 yards and showed off a laser beam at times. But even he was hamstrung by his receivers. It’s hard to say a third-quarter drop in a 20-3 game was the reason Georgia lost, but when a clear touchdown comically bounced off of Bell’s hands, the play felt like a microcosm of the season on offense.

So far, the Dawgs have operated in a manner that would suggest retrofitting the receiver room is atop the to-do list.

Georgia aggressively sought reinforcements at receiver in its 2025 signing class. The high school haul produced 5 receivers, highlighted by Talyn Taylor — a top-40 overall prospect and the No. 6 wide receiver in the country.

The Dawgs have also already done work in the transfer market. They hosted Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas, a 6-foot-6 receiver with a blue-chip pedigree and multiple years of experience going against SEC defensive backs. Thomas put up 933 yards with 13 touchdowns over the last 2 seasons.

He’s a true X receiver, a guy who drew 14 contested targets this season and caught 7 of them. Per PFF, the average depth on his team-leading 72 targets was 12.8 yards.

And Georgia has already landed a transfer pledge from former USC receiver Zachariah Branch — a massive, massive win for Smart’s Dawgs.

Branch had a historic freshman season at USC, when he became the first true freshman first-team All-American in program history. He was equally lethal as a return man and a receiver. This season, Branch led all USC receivers with 73 targets but was used mostly as an underneath option in the slot.

The 5-10 receiver spent 79% of his snaps in the slot and his average target depth was just 6.6 yards. More than 64% of his targets came behind the line of scrimmage or within 9 yards. A speedster who can force missed tackles, Branch is an obvious fit for what Bobo wants to do — a guy who can take those extended handoffs and make something happen.

Branch had a weird 2024 season. He didn’t look as explosive. He wasn’t anywhere close to the same return threat he was in 2023. But USC’s offense was a mixed bag all year. At Georgia, maybe Branch can find more of a rhythm with Stockton in the offseason and parlay that into a more successful junior year.

The talent is obvious. And Georgia needs this one to pan out. Branch can’t be a rotation guy; he has to be a threat week in and week out. If Georgia can land the Thomas transfer as well, there’s reason for optimism. The Dawgs went 4-10 against the spread this season, the worst mark of the Smart era. The defense is always going to have a high ceiling with Smart at the helm, but the Dawgs struggled all year long to cover the big numbers. They went 0-7 ATS when favored by more than 14 points. And Beck had 5 interceptions in those 7 games. The offense has to be better.

Stockton can sling it. He needs playmakers.

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Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.