For all the talk this offseason about replacing key receivers or improvements made by Gunner Stockton, the Georgia Bulldogs have plenty of questions as it comes to the other side of the ball.
Georgia added four defensive backs via the transfer portal as it aims to fill a hole at safety. Cornerback Daylen Everette and linebacker CJ Allen must be replaced as a three-year starters in the Georgia defense.
Yet the real area of concern, per a few national media members, would be the play up front.
“The elephant in the room for Georgia last year was the inability, at least early in the season, to apply consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback,” ESPN’s Greg McElroy said on The Always College Football Podcast. “And if you look at Georgia, while their havoc numbers improved greatly in the final seven, eight games of the year, they still didn’t register the sacks that we’ve come to expect from the Georgia standard.”
Georgia finished the season with just 20 sacks, the fewest of the Kirby Smart era.
The positive for Georgia is that much of its limited production from last season returns. Allen is the only player who had multiple sacks that needs to be replaced.
Chris Cole, Zayden Walker, Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson give Georgia a number of ways to attack the opposing quarterback. Defensive tackle Elijah Griffin is primed for a big season in his second year in the program.
The Bulldogs went into the transfer portal to add Auburn’s Amaris Williams, who McElroy thinks could be a breakout player for Georgia.
Given the concerns about the pass rush, he may need to be for the Bulldogs next season.
“Stop focusing so much on Georgia’s quarterbacks and receivers, and start paying attention to what’s happening -- or not -- along the defensive line,” Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports wrote. “The Bulldogs’ pass rush is nowhere near what it used to be, particularly those heydays of 2021 with Nakobe Dean and Nolan Smith. Last season, Georgia averaged just 4.2 tackles for loss per game, the lowest mark of the Kirby Smart era and two fewer per game than the previous season. If Georgia’s defensive line had been closer to its old standard, the Bulldogs might have had enough to beat Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.”
In two games against Ole Miss and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the Bulldogs finished with zero sacks. Chambliss though wasn’t the only quarterback to give Georgia trouble last season.
Georgia will see Chambliss once again in 2026, as Georgia faces Ole Miss on Nov. 7.
The Bulldogs have rarely been a dominant team when it comes to sacking the opposing quarterback. Only the 2021 Georgia defense has finished in the top 10 in the country in terms of sacks.
Georgia would far prefer to be dominant against the run. It was in 2025, when the Bulldogs ranked fourth in the country in rush defense.
Yet that wasn’t enough to propel Georgia to a long College Football Playoff run. For the second consecutive season, the Bulldogs lost their first College Football Playoff game.
To reach greater heights in 2026, the Bulldogs have to make small improvements in a number of areas. But it’s clear this Georgia team is going to have to make a big leap in how it disrupts opposing quarterbacks and offenses if it is to return to the ranks of elite.
