Georgia will need to fix its ‘wide receiver problem’ in 2026 season
Since the 2019 NFL draft, Georgia has had as many wide receivers selected as Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are considered college football’s gold standard for the position. For the Bulldogs, it’s routinely questioned.
Entering the 2026 season, the wide receiver position has been circled as the reason Georgia might come up short of its national championship aspirations.
“The problem with Georgia the last couple of years, at least in my estimation, has been a lack of playmakers on the outside,” Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt recently said on his podcast. “It killed Carson Beck two years ago. So many drops. They led the country in drops on the outside. Last year they didn’t have a big-play threat. So can you go and win a shootout?”
Klatt isn’t the only one questioning Georgia’s wide receiver group.
Kirby Smart called them out after G-Day. As well as the tight ends and running backs who played that day, Smart wanted more from his outside pass catchers.
“They got to grow up,” Smart said. “I mean, there’s a lot of hype, talk about group there. There’s not the substance of toughness where they’ve shown it. But it’s a talented group. I mean, there’s guys there that can make plays.”
Georgia has to replace four of its five wide receivers from last year who caught more than 15 passes. The Bulldogs brought in only one transfer, leading to plenty of external questions about what the Bulldogs have in the wide receiver room.
“Mike Bobo has a wide receiver problem,” Brad Crawford of CBS Sports wrote. “The Bulldogs addressed Zachariah Branch’s departure to the NFL by signing Georgia Tech’s Isiah Canion, but more is needed on the outside. Branch’s impact in the passing game is substantial after he led the Bulldogs in targets, catches and receptions as a portal addition himself last fall.”
Georgia needs its young wide receivers to emerge as playmakers to be a true national championship contender this season.
“So, we got guys that can make plays given the opportunity,” Smart said. “And Gunner (Stockton) can get the ball to them. So that’s an area that’s going to have to be — if we want to be explosive and do what we want to do next year, we got to play well at that position. And I’m very pleased with the progress of that group. But they got to grow up with mental toughness and physical toughness.
“And then they got to actually go show it. Because it’s different doing it and talking about it.”
Georgia signed five wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting class. They combined for just nine catches last season, with the Bulldogs leaning heavily on its veterans.
With London Humphreys and Sacovie White-Helton being the wide receivers with at least three seasons at Georgia, the team needs its young playmakers to step up.
The biggest of those 2025 signees is redshirt freshman Talyn Taylor. He was a 5-star recruit in the class, the kind that typically ends up at Ohio State.
Georgia liked what it saw early last season from Taylor, enough to dial up a shot play for him in the team’s first game against Alabama. Taylor got behind the defense but couldn’t haul in the pass. Before Georgia’s next game, Taylor broke his collarbone, knocking him out for the rest of the regular season.
Taylor had one catch in Georgia’s spring game; Ryan Puglisi found him for a 32-yard gain.
Until Taylor proves to be a consistent contributor, questions will linger about the group. He isn’t the only one who can alleviate concerns. Among second-year players, Landon Roldan had a strong spring, and the Bulldogs are optimistic in what CJ Wiley, Thomas Blackshear and Tyler Williams can do.
Georgia signed three wide receivers in the 2026 class, with Craig Dandridge showing the most promise this spring. But the most interesting pass catcher among the freshmen is Kaiden Prothro.
Prothro was recruited as a tight end, and that will be his long-term home. But his skills as a wide receiver are why he led the team in receptions and receiving yards in the spring game.
Georgia used Prothro almost exclusively as a slot option. Like the wide receivers, the freshman from Bowdon was challenged by Smart this spring.
“He’s really an elite catch radius guy,” Smart said after G-Day. “He put that on display today. And that kind of summed up his spring in his ability to go make plays on the perimeter. He’s a matchup problem. But it doesn’t always help you. Because if people don’t play man-to-man, he doesn’t get that. He’s got to learn how to play the position, which is when they drop zone. Where’s the hole? What is my route structure? Where does the quarterback need me to be? Those are finer points that he does not know.”
Wide receiver has long been perceived as an issue for Georgia. Of all the positions on their roster, it’s the one the Bulldogs have signed the fewest number of 5-star prospects. Opposing schools have used Georgia’s tight end usage against it.
Last year, Georgia’s tight ends caught just 43 passes. Branch had 81 himself. Unless Stockton changes how he distributes the football — something that has been brought up consistently this offseason — Georgia’s wide receiver production is going to be a major sticking point.
If Taylor, Dandridge, Prothro or someone else steps up and makes a repeated impact, the questions about the wide receiver position could die down. Not just for this season but perhaps even moving forward.
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
