Top 5 Georgia football players returning to lead the Dawgs’ excellent defense in 2022

The most important player returning for Georgia football is Jalen Carter, who has big shoes to fill but is more than capable of doing so because his ceiling is unreachable.

While the Dawgs lose Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt to the NFL, Carter was the guy right beside them making plays, causing havoc and proving big men can be quick too.

Carter will be a junior in 2022, and it’s his time to be a leader up front for the Dawgs. He will be the big man on the defensive front that Georgia needs to be elite.

Everyone worries about losing Davis and Wyatt, which is understandable because they were two of the best to wear the Red and Black, but Carter is better.

He has more juice, grit, mobility, quickness, and overall ability to be a monster for opposing offenses.

Carter recorded 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass break up, and two blocked kicks. Last year he finished with the second-most quarterback hurries on the team with 30. Only Travon Walker edged him out with 32 of his own.

He also led blocks for rushing touchdowns, including the one Davis scored on senior day against Charleston Southern.

Carter is a beast and someone opposing teams should fear. As a rising junior, he will only get better and hasn’t even gotten close to peaking.

Defensive line coach Tray Scott did a fantastic job recruiting this young man and giving Georgia the depth they need up front to be elite. Carter’s moment is in 2022, and while those 2021 numbers impressed, it’s going to be his leadership skills on top of better stats in 2022 that put him inside the top-10 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Georgia has a defense that will need to rebuild some, but for the most part, it has five members who will help it reload and stay elite. These five men know what it takes to have a terrifying defense, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them lead the 2022 squad to greatness.