ATHENS — It seems like the Georgia team entering the 2025 season has more questions than those in recent years.

The offensive performance from last season fuels many of those concerns.

But given Georgia’s defense has to replace three first-round draft picks, that side of the ball, that unit has come under question as late as well.

“Kirby Smart is known for getting the most out of his teams and this 2025 squad will be playing with a chip despite winning the SEC last season,” Brad Crawford of CBS Sports wrote. “Georgia replaces four starters along the offensive line, has two new wideouts and former starting quarterback Carson Beck now stars for Miami. Can the defense keep the Bulldogs among the elite?”

There’s pressure on the Georgia defense in 2025, which wasn’t exactly as elite in 2024. The Bulldogs’ run defense was merely good rather than other-worldly and the group did not force as many turnovers or excel on third down as it had in previous years.

Of course, the 2021 and 2022 Georgia defenses are among some of the best in recent college football history.

While Georgia may not have the waves of talent it once did on that side of the ball, ESPN’s Greg McElroy is willing to give the group the benefit of the doubt in the way he wouldn’t for other programs.

“I love the depth of this group,” McElroy said on an episode of The Always College Football Podcast. “Kirby Smart’s always talking about, well, I don’t have the depth I once did. Well, no one does, because when you take into account what his team had in 21 and 22, nobody had that kind of depth. Nobody ever again will have that kind of depth, but they’ll be the closest ones to it. And I love some of their personnel coming into this year.

“It always is tough to replace some of the difference makers, but it’s always easy to feel pretty good, given the four and five-star recruits that are stepping right in those voids."

ESPN’s Cole Cubelic echoed McElroy’s sentiments, especially when it comes to the defensive front. The defense doesn’t have the same abundance of talent that it once did but there is more than enough to make Georgia one of the better units in the SEC.

“Do they get a little bit of a doubt? Yeah, they do. Do they have the guys they had four years ago? No, they don’t. That’s okay,” Cubelic said on his podcast The Cube Show. “Three years ago? No, they don’t. It’s fine. Here’s what I have seen from this group that I like a lot. It’s very similar to what we talked about with the Georgia offensive line that a lot of people really got pissed off about. I have seen this group play in spurts play really well."

Consider that Georgia has multiple former 5-star prospects on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Many of those names are unproven but with all the turnover Georgia’s defense has seen this offseason they’ll have an opportunity to make plays for this Georgia defense.

Among those looking to take up a bigger role include defensive linemen Elijah Griffin and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, linebackers Chris Cole and Justin Williams and defensive back Ellis Robinson.

Georgia does return all of its defensive coaches from last season, which should allow them to coax the most out of a clearly talented group.

Whether it all comes together for this group will go a long way in determining the ceiling of Georgia’s team.