Georgia stars on NFL Draft radars ahead of 2024 season

The 2025 NFL Draft is still several months away, but that’s not stopping anybody from talking about the top prospects already. ESPN experts Matt Miller and Jordan Reid recently shared their top five prospects at each position with a total of 10 different Georgia Bulldogs included.

Quarterback Carson Beck starts things off as the No. 1 prospect at the position for both Miller and Reid. Coming off of a season in which he set a school record for completion percentage (72.4%) while throwing for almost 4,000 yards, Beck is looking to use another year in Mike Bobo’s system to boost his draft stock to even higher levels than it would’ve been had he declared in 2024.

“Carson Beck right now is the No. 1 quarterback in the class. We saw him play a little bit in 2022. Four touchdowns, no interceptions. Last year, taking the place of Stetson Bennett IV as the starter, really came out hot – 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions,” Miller said during a segment on NFL Live. “He shows an efficient style of play from within the pocket. He has a very, very good arm.”

“What impresses me the most, he is a fast processor. His ability to see the field as a first-year starter was really unprecedented, especially going against SEC defenses,” Miller continued. “The schedule for Georgia this year is tough. The SEC is much tougher this year. He’s gonna get a game against Texas. That’s gonna answer a lot of questions about well he can handle not only a great secondary, but a great pass rush. So Beck starts the year as the top guy. He’s not on the level of a Trevor Lawrence or a Caleb Williams as a prospect, but in a really good group of quarterbacks, he does stand out as the best guy.”

Beck will have plenty of talented weapons around him. Running back Trevor Etienne makes the list for each analyst – No. 4 per Reid and No. 5 for Miller – as does tight end Benjamin Yurosek – No. 2 for Miller and No. 3 according to Reid. Both players spent their last season elsewhere but chose Georgia out of the transfer portal this offseason. Their experience and proven production makes them expected instant impact players in Athens.

Interestingly, Reid ranks offensive tackle Earnest Greene as a guard. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound native of Los Angeles, Calif. was ranked by On3 as an interior offensive lineman coming out of St. John Bosco, but all of his experience at the collegiate level has been at tackle. After taking a redshirt season in 2022, Greene started all 14 games for Georgia at left tackle in 2023, earning SEC All-Freshman team selection and Freshman All-America First-Team according to The Athletic.

Greene isn’t the only offensive lineman from Georgia’s talented group up front that’s got NFL eyes on them already. Veteran guard Tate Ratledge was a Second-Team All-American selection by the Associated Press last season. He earned First-Team All-SEC honors by both the media and coaches. A starter of 28 career contests entering the season, Ratledge was ranked No. 3 by Miller and 4 by Reid. New starter at center Jared Wilson also received attention from Reid, coming in at No. 2 behind former Georgia player Clay Webb (Jacksonville State).

Flipping things over to the defensive side of the ball, Mykel Williams is widely regarded as one of the top available prospects in this upcoming draft class. He led Georgia in sacks as a true freshman, part of the 2022 national championship winning team, and backed it up with a sophomore season that showed flashes of his full potential. Williams and the Bulldogs hope to unlock that this season with a move to outside linebacker, allowing the former five-star to use his 6-foot-5, 265-pound frame and athleticism. Reid has him atop the EDGE group while Miller included him at No. 3.

Nazir Stackhouse (No. 5 DT), Jalon Walker (No. 3 LB) and Smael Mondon each earned a nod according to Miller. The veteran core of the defense, like Williams, is hoping for a somewhat better season in 2024. Stackhouse, who saw a downtick in production last season as compared to 2022, and the defensive line were the subject of criticism at times last year while Walker struggled to find a home, spending time at both inside and outside linebacker. Still, he led the team in sacks in 2023 with 5.5 of his 20 total stops being quarterback takedowns. Increased depth across the board should help both Stackhouse and Walker have stronger seasons this fall.

That depth is also where Mondon fits in. He’s more than a depth piece, starting a combined 24 games in 2022 and 2023, however he struggled with health in both campaigns. Mondon battled foot issues last fall and underwent a second surgery to hopefully completely repair the problem ahead of a senior season in which he could turn heads.

“We were discussing Mondon as a top-100 prospect this time last year, but he returned to school and should be one of the nation’s best linebackers,” Miller wrote, circling Mondon as the linebacker outside the top five to watch. “At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, Mondon has excellent size and length, allowing him to be a three-down difference-maker who registered 42 tackles and three sacks last season. Improvement in pass coverage could make Mondon a top-five linebacker.”

Last but certainly not least is potentially the best safety in the country, Malaki Starks. Coming in at No. 1 according to both Reid and Miller, he wasn’t hard to rank. His 28 straight starts and 120 career tackles speak for themself. Starks intercepted three passes in 2023 – outpacing the two from his freshman season – on his way to earning consensus All-American honors.

Georgia gets its season underway on August 31st when the Bulldogs take on Clemson in Atlanta. Kirby Smart’s squad enters the fall likely as the top-ranked team and as the preseason favorite to take home a third national title in four years.