Georgia football may have 15 names declared for the NFL Draft and eight that were or are currently in the transfer portal, but the Dawgs haven’t lost all of their talented playmakers.
After deep-diving into the Dawgs’ roster and running through the PFF’s grading system, there are 18 players with at least 120 snaps, including the kicker, with grades of 70 or higher.
There would be 19 if we want to round up a 69.6 grade for Robert Beal Jr., but since so many other fanbases believe the Dawgs have lost it all and will be another 2019 LSU team, we will leave it at 18 names.
This list of players are the ones who got significant playing time, and it doesn’t count the ones that got some but played behind the likes of first-round NFL talent.
Georgia football has 18 highly-graded players returning for the 2022 season.
Some guys have high grades, but because of injury or too-few snap counts, we didn’t include, so while the number is 18, it’s higher than that.
The Dawgs prove with this list of guys that they reload talent and won’t be another “one-hit-wonder.”
Offensively nine players grade higher than a 70, according to PFF, and there are six on the defense.
Here are the 18 Georgia football players that PFF grade 70 or higher
- Brock Bowers, Soph. TE —92.1
- Kenny McIntosh, Sr. RB — 90.1
- Ladd McConkey, R-Soph. WR — 87.3
- Jalen Carter, Jr. DT‚— 84.9
- Nolan Smith, Sr. DE/LB — 84.6
- Stetson Bennett IV, Super Sr. QB — 83.8
- Jack Podlesny, Sr. K — 78.7
- Broderick Jones, R-Soph OT — 78.7
- Christopher Smith, Super Sr. S — 77.4
- Kamari Lassiter, Soph. CB —76.8
- Warren McClendon, R-Jr. OT — 75.4
- William Poole III, Super-Sr. CB — 75.3
- Kelee Ringo, R-Soph. CB — 74.5
- Amarius Mims — Soph. OT — 73.5
- Darnell Washington — Jr. TE — 72.6
- Dan Jackson, R-Jr. S — 71
- Javon Bullard, Soph. CB — 70.4
- Sedrick Van Pran, R-Soph. C — 70.1
The highest grade on offense goes to starting tight end and rising sophomore Brock Bowers. He has a 92.1 after an impressive freshman campaign. Bowers broke records and now has an entire college season under his belt.
While a 92.1 is high, imagine what it could look like as a sophomore with him understanding his body better, improving his blocking, and just being another year wiser. Bowers is a dangerous weapon the Dawgs have, and he has the quarterback back that helped him break all those records.
Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett is among the 17 on this list as he has an 83.8 grade. The fourth-highest on the offense, Bennett decided to give it one more go and try to help the Dawgs repeat in 2022.
While some disagreed with this decision, he is a national championship quarterback who led the Dawgs and got the job done with the help of that historic defense.
Now he has one more offseason to improve his craft and get even better. Bennett can lead the Dawgs to glory again, and there are new assistant coaches in place that can continue to help the Mailman develop.
Kenny McIntosh has the second-highest grade on this team at a 90.1, and this came as a bit of a shock, but he is good at toting the rock and catching it, so once you break it down, it’s understandable. When the ball gets into his hand, he does a lot, and now he will be the “man” with Kendall Milton.
KM-squared is what we will call them, and they are going to be fun to take the majority of the carries. Plus, when you think about it, Milton isn’t on this list because he was hurt a good chunk of the 2021 season, but he is one of the most talented guys in that room, so if he can stay healthy, he will be another name that will see high grading.
Ladd McConkey is another name on this list that can be a crucial contributor for Georgia football next season. He has an 87.3 grade on 348 snaps, and while Jermaine Burton eventually surpassed him for second-most receiving yards, he is another Bennett trusts to make plays.
With Burton gone, Dominick Blaylock coming back from injury, McConkey’s lane is wide open in 2022, and now with a bit of confidence, he will know how to keep his starting spot.
Georgia also has four offensive linemen on the list, including center Sedrick Van Pran who got better as the season continued. Having the center and quarterback off a national title team come back for another season is a recipe for success.
The Dawgs will have to figure out the interior situation, but those tackles will be veterans. Broderick Jones did an excellent job in place of Jamaree Salyer and is talented enough to go inside if needed so that Amarius Mims can get some time at tackle.
Warren McClendon will be the veteran as the Georgia legacy proves why the McClendon name holds so much weight.
Tate Ratledge likely would have been on this list if it weren’t for him going down with a season-ending injury. He should be back this season, though, and will likely hold one of those interior spots.
Defensively the story is similar. There are key returners back for the Dawgs, and like the guys who came back for the 2021 season, they could have gone to the NFL draft but chose to keep adding to their legacy.
Three veteran defensive backs and two linebackers returned while the Dawgs also see Jalen Carter back to anchor that line. He will be better than Jordan Davis, and now that he will have a majority of the snaps, he will prove it.
Carter and Nolan Smith have 84 grades and will be tremendous assets in 2022 for the Dawgs. Beal is the other but doesn’t grade as high. He led the Dawgs in sacks but only grades at 69.6. That number will change in 2022.
Georgia football has a ton of talent coming back in 2022, and a lot of the guys we’re most excited about aren’t even one of the 18 names listed.
The Dawgs continue to reload with recruiting as they are the No.2 for the 2022 class. Then there is the transfer portal which means this number could change even more once Smart grabs whoever he wants out of there.
To say Georgia football doesn’t have talent coming back proves these opposing fanbases haven’t done their homework because the Dawgs are coming back with a vengeance in 2022 to establish that what happened in 2021 wasn’t a lucky occurrence.