ATHENS — Georgia placed a premium on retention this offseason. The Bulldogs had the fewest number of transfers in the SEC, and thus brought back a number of contributors on both sides of the ball

If there was one position that did experience significant turnover, it came with Georgia’s pass catchers. That includes receivers Zachariah Branch, Dillon Bell, Noah Thomas, Colbie Young and tight end Oscar Delp.

Branch set a Georgia record for single-season receptions last season. When quarterback Gunner Stockton needed to make a big play, odds are Branch was getting the ball.

With Branch now on the Atlanta Falcons, it’s fair to wonder who that player might be for Stockton in 2026.

“We lost a lot of experience last year with some skill players, the four receivers and the tight end. That’s what we’re in the midst of doing right now,” Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said on Wednesday. “Trying to find out who we are, the best way for us to move the ball offensively, to control the game, to be explosive.”

Bobo understands nobody on this year’s roster is currently projected to become the next Branch or Brock Bowers. They’re special players for a reason.

But the Bulldogs still need explosive plays, even if they don’t have someone who can play hero ball.

The Georgia offensive coordinator said it can be nice to have someone who overwhelms a defense individually. But the better option is having a quarterback who can spread the wealth around the field to really put pressure on the opposition.

“It runs through the quarterback sometimes,” Bobo said. “And if they’re good at distributing, the defense has to defend everybody. You might have that one guy that they put a little more attention to, but the quarterback does the right thing. You’ve got players at all these positions that you talked about; you gotta trust them to go make that, go make plays. And I think when you can do things, do a lot of different things well, I think you’ve got a chance to be real successful.”

Georgia isn’t in lacking in possible options. The problem is that aside from senior London Humphreys, none are proven in a Georgia uniform.

With Branch, Young and Bell vacuuming up catches last season, there’s a dearth of experience with most of Georgia’s pass catchers. That has created quite the competition for anyone looking to emerge as a serious contributor.

“Who emerges? Is there a young guy that emerges? These guys are a little bit better than you thought. We’re more explosive in this personnel group,” Bobo said. “ … Those touches have to go somewhere. They’re doing a good job of competing.”

The coordinator noted that Georgia’s two upcoming scrimmages are where he and the rest of the staff will take note of who starts separating themselves from the rest of the pack. Some names to likely keep an eye on are Talyn Taylor, CJ Wiley, Jaden Reddell, Elyiss Williams; even freshman Tre Shields is generating buzz thus far.

Most teams would love to have that collection of talent, as four of those five were former top-100 recruits. Bobo called it a “more explosive personnel group” than last year’s team, giving the Bulldogs multiple ways to attack opposing defenses.

“At Georgia, we have a big volume of offense. We do a lot of things offensively and we don’t carry all those things in one game. But our volume allows us to be multiple from game to game and how we want to attack somebody,” Bobo said. “And when you have multiple positions, whether it’s tight end receivers or backs, and you’ve got good depth at all those, it allows you to do more things.”

But Georgia is not most places. The Bulldogs are a legitimate title contender on an annual basis. And any knit that can be picked by the media will be done so until Georgia proves it can overcome the perceived weakness.