Javon Wims understands what it’s like to be the No. 1 wide receiver at Georgia.

He led the Bulldogs in receiving during the 2017 season, when the Bulldogs won the SEC, beat Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and advanced to the national championship game.

Wims also knows a good bit about the current Georgia wide receiver room. He serves as an assistant quality coach for the offense, holding that role last season as well.

That experience gives him great insight into redshirt freshman Talyn Taylor and what he is tasked with this season.

Unlike Wims, who arrived as an unheralded JUCO recruit, Taylor came to Athens as a 5-star prospect. George Pickens is the only other 5-star wide receiver the Bulldogs have signed under Kirby Smart and Pickens led Georgia in receiving as a freshman.

Expectations were high for Taylor. Wims picked up on why pretty quickly.

“With my own two eyes that I can physically touch and watch and all these things, I thought Talyn Taylor was the best freshman that I have been around in a physical form,” Wims said in an appearance on Off The Clock with Davin Bellamy.

Wims noted that Taylor blends elements of Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams into his game. Both of those players were first-round picks.

“The game speed is different. You got to speed yourself up sometimes to get to get with everybody else,” Wims said. “With this kid, he came in already with game speed, which is rare.”

No one doubts the raw ability of Taylor. Where the questions come are why Taylor couldn’t live up to that hype as a freshman and how that impacts him going into 2026.

The on-field moment Taylor is most known for at this point came in Georgia’s regular season game against Alabama. In the third quarter with Georgia trailing 24-21, Taylor effortlessly got behind the Alabama defense. Gunner Stockton launched a pass at Taylor and it hit him in the hands.

Only Taylor couldn’t secure what would be a walk-in touchdown. It resulted in a drop. Had he caught the pass, Sanford Stadium would’ve exploded into a frenzy, as Georgia would’ve taken the lead. Instead, Georgia lost 24-21 and the only sound worth remembering was the second down sound bite that was played on every second down.

Wims knows what it’s like to have a significant drop, as he recalled dropping a touchdown pass in a playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Wims believes Taylor is wired the right way to respond from the tough moment. Wims relayed that Taylor was bothered by the play. How could one not be?

Unfortunately for Taylor, things went from bad to worse before he got a chance to atone for the drop. He suffered a collarbone injury the following week in practice, which knocked him out for the remainder of the regular season.

Taylor finished his freshman season with 2 receptions for 28 yards. He’s yet to catch a pass against an FBS opponent.

That will have to change for Georgia this coming season. Taylor has enjoyed the benefits of a full year in the Georgia strength and conditioning program, giving him a better chance of making it through an SEC season. The best ability is availability and Taylor hopes to prove he possesses that in his bag of skills.

“Like route running speed, game speed. He has a burst,” Wims said of Taylor. “He really can run routes. He’s fast. He will stretch the field. And he’s electric with the ball in his hand too.”

Taylor was the kind of talent who was good enough to come in and produce, regardless of who was on the depth chart in front of him. There’s a reason the coaching staff dialed up a game-changing play against Alabama for him.

This coming season, Taylor doesn’t have to compete with Zachariah Branch or Colbie Young for catches. The Bulldogs have to replace six of their top seven pass catchers from last season. London Humpherys is the only returning wide receiver who caught more than 10 passes last season.

That gives Taylor plenty of runway to show he’s much more than the player who dropped a big pass against Alabama.

“He’s grown up a lot. Not to say that he wasn’t mature last year. He’s grown up a lot,” Georgia wide receiver Sacovie White-Helton said of Taylor this spring. “Plays faster. It looks like he knows the offense better. So whenever you know the offense better, you can play a lot faster, you can see coverages better.”

Taylor made the most of his lone reception on G-Day, hauling in a 32-yard pass from Ryan Puglisi. Georgia is counting on Taylor to make more explosive plays this upcoming season.

There’s a very real world where Taylor emerges as Georgia’s leading receiver this season. The Bulldogs have other options, but there’s a clear belief in Taylor that he can bring some needed juice to this offense. Former Georgia receiver Noah Thomas did compare Taylor to Wilson this spring.

Wims doesn’t want to put those lofty comparisons onto Taylor.

But the former Georgia wide receiver and current coach very much believes that Taylor is going to be known for a lot more at Georgia than one drop he had in his freshman season.