ATHENS — It’s no secret that the defensive line has been a major key to Georgia’s success in recent seasons.

The Bulldogs have had nine defensive linemen drafted in the previous four NFL drafts. Three more found new homes this weekend, including Mykel Williams landing with the No. 11 overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers.

Churning out that many elite defensive linemen has its benefits. It makes recruiting the next Williams, the next Jalen Carter all the easier.

But at a certain point, it becomes hard to always be replacing elite defensive linemen. Andy Staples of On3 illustrated that point, as he dropped Georgia down to No. 8 in his post-spring top-25 rankings.

“This feels low for the Bulldogs considering what they’ve been in the Kirby Smart era," Staples said. “But the fear is that the supply of aliens on the defensive line is running short.”

In some ways, head coach Kirby Smart agrees with that idea. Following Georgia’s spring game, the Georgia coach acknowledged just how much younger the Bulldogs are on the defensive line this coming season.

“There’s a lot of guys leaving out of that room,” Smart said. “So there’s a lot of big bodies for us that had to be replaced, and we are not where we need to be on the line of scrimmage. But I’m very pleased with the kids we have. I’m just not pleased with where we are. We have to get better.”

It’s fair to question what the group might look like, given its most talented players — former 5-star prospects Jordan Hall, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Elijah Griffin — are all unproven. Hall and Jonah-Ajonye ended up redshirting while Griffin was the No. 1 defensive lineman in the country for the 2025 recruiting class.

That puts all the more on the shoulders of fourth-year junior Christen Miller to be the next monster on Georgia’s defensive line.

Miller is the oldest defensive lineman on the 2025 Georgia team. He signed in the 2022 recruiting class, the same one that produced Williams. But where as the newest San Francisco 49er arrived on campus as a 5-star prospect, Miller was the No. 122 overall prospect in the class.

Still a great prospect but far from an alien.

Williams led Georgia in sacks as a true freshman. Miller ended up redshirting. His role has steadily increased each year at Georgia. Despite missing time at the end of the season due to a shoulder injury, he still tied for the team lead in tackles among defensive linemen at 27.

He’ll need to blow past that this upcoming season, not only to validate the rising NFL draft hype, but also help maintain Georgia’s status among the elite programs in the country.

Josh Edwards of CBS Sports had Miller projected as the No. 31 overall pick in a Way-Too-Early 2026 Mock Draft.

“Miller is a young prospect with great size, but Bulldogs who play significant minutes usually get drafted,” Edwards wrote. “With Warren Brinson, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker gone, Miller steps into a prominent role.”

That commentary is par for the course for an early mock draft. There are major projections being made.

Especially for someone like Miller, who missed all of spring practice after having labrum surgery.

He’ll have to wait until the start of fall camp to begin validating the hype.

But teammates have seen Miller, who passed on being a part of the NFL draft this year, make noticeable strides as he’s become a more established player for the Bulldogs. 

“I’ve seen the transition he made, the leap he made last year,” Hall said of Miller. “Y’all don’t know how much work we put into offseason last season. This year is a big year for him, a big year for our defensive line, but he’s the leader in our room, and he has some special things coming for this season.”

When it comes to developing talent, few coaches have been better of late than Tray Scott. Among position coaches, perhaps only Ohio State’s Brian Hartline and Georgia’s Glenn Schumann have had more success in terms of developing players at their respective positions.

Miller has the chance to be another major win for Scott. If Miller can raise his game to another level in 2025, he’ll find himself in the conversation to be a first-round pick.

But more important than individual success is that of the team success for Georgia. The Bulldogs have plenty of questions entering the 2025 season, particularly at the quarterback and offensive line positions.

If the Bulldogs are to return to a championship level, where they were at when Miller arrived at Georgia back in 2022, it can’t afford to have the defensive line be one of those positions of concen.

Miller can go a long way in providing a definitive answer to the group. He doesn’t have to be the next version of Carter. That’s unrealistic to expect. Not just for Miller but any defensive lineman.

But Georgia does need him to be a disruptive player and an even bigger leader for a defensive line that is largely unproven.

If Miller does that, he’ll play himself firmly into being a Thursday player when it comes to the 2026 NFL Draft. Just as Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt did before him.