Carson Beck sees NFL Draft stock rise with recent play

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck played his best game of the season on Saturday, and it’s safe to say it’s sparked the conversation again as to where his stock is as an NFL Draft prospect.

ESPN’s Matt Miller included Beck in the first round of his mock draft released on Thursday, projecting the UGA signal caller to Los Angeles to join Stetson Bennett and potentially replace another Bulldog legend Matthew Stafford with the Rams. Beck was the third quarterback off the board behind Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward, ahead of Alabama’s Jalen Milroe as a fourth first round pick.

Miller cited “supply and demand” when it comes to quarterbacks in the projection said that NFL scouts believe Beck could play himself back into that sort of position mid-first round when it’s all said and done.

MORE: Complete look at Matt Miller mock draft featuring four Georgia Bulldogs (On3)

Similarly, Todd McShay, draft analyst for The Ringer, explained on his podcast that Beck’s performance Saturday was exactly what he had been waiting for and why the Jacksonville, Fla. native was viewed so highly coming into the season. He played well as a first-year starter surrounded by weapons like Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, both of whom are having strong rookie seasons. This year’s Georgia squad doesn’t have the same kind of pass catchers, causing some struggles earlier in the season, but Beck seems to have made the necessary adjustments to turn the corner late.

“Carson Beck the last two weeks, and I know it was a loss to Ole Miss and it was ugly and you’re like what are you talking about, I saw him turn the corner. I saw something,” McShay said. “He’s not pressing. He’s not forcing throws. He’s understanding the importance of protecting the football. He did it in that game. It was a loss, but he did everything he could with what he had to work with in that game and it wasn’t much. Tonight (Tennessee) he did everything he could, and think about the drops he had. Two drops early in the game, one could’ve been a huge play to start off the game. Then a little bit later, another one to (Arian) Smith. The ball kind of hung up there a little bit and the defender came in and made a play in the end, but in the NFL more often than not that’s a catch.”

“I’m starting to see with Carson Beck what we were hoping to see in terms of the progression last year to this year. First year starter last year, coming into year two, comfortable with the system, yeah there’s new weapons, and finally for two weeks back to back weeks, he’s the guy,” he continued. “And it’s not too late. It’s exciting because now we’re making a run towards the Playoffs and now I might get two, three, four more games I might get to see. And believe it or not, we’d rather talk about him play well. Trust me. We’re rooting for the kid. It’s better for draft conversations. It’s been tough to watch him struggle, and it’s been great to see him turn it around. Hopefully he continues at this level.”

McShay cited a report from ABC’s Molly McGrath during the Ole Miss loss that Beck spent time self-evaluating his play and said that he found it important he understood that 1st & 10s sometimes aren’t the most important play in the world. He needed that exercise after a rough five-game stretch before that, throwing three interceptions against Alabama, Texas and Florida each as well as two against Mississippi State – his first four games ever with multiple interceptions.

“It was almost like he had a reset, and he played well in that game. Everything else was falling apart around him, but he played well, and it carried over into tonight (Tennessee),” McShay said. “… I saw a quarterback that has accepted the role of, ‘I’ve got to carry this team,’ but is not pressing in that role. That was the difference to me. ‘I get it. We’re not going to be able to run the football. (Nate) Frazier’s not going to put up big numbers. This defensive front for Tennessee is phenomenal. I’m going to have to carry this team, but I’m not going to press.’ He was going through his progressions. He was tucking the ball and running. I thought early, it was the last play of the first quarter and then the first drive that carried over to the second quarter, that was the turning point to me in this game.”

For Georgia fans, seeing that type of play from Beck earlier in the season would’ve saved them a lot of stress. The Bulldogs suffered multiple regular season losses for just the second time since Kirby Smart’s first season on the job. Through it all, the head coach has stuck by Beck. Games like Saturday’s against Tennessee accounting for 379 yards of offense and three touchdowns make it easy to understand why, and also leave the door open to a potential rise up the rankings of quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class.

“You look at this quarterback class and we keep talking about Shedeur Sanders putting the best tape out there and being the best pure passer in this class and he still is, and Cam Ward is the fastest riser of all these quarterbacks carrying Miami and doing all the things he’s done, Carson Beck from an NFL perspective making NFL throws, the mobility he brings, the size he has, this was a damn good time for him to turn it on,” McShay ended his thoughts with. “We’ve got a lot of time to unpack it, but if he keeps playing like this and Georgia goes on a run, he’s going to make things really interesting.”

Georgia closes out its regular season with a couple of contests against non-conference opponents: UMass (Nov. 23, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Then, for Beck and the Bulldogs, the hope is to make an extended run through the College Football Playoffs for even more opportunities to shine against elite competition.