Georgia may have found its next great wide receiver. Sophomore Talyn Taylor is coming off a monster game against one of the SEC’s best defenses, and it wasn’t his first time showing elite form this year.
Against the Oklahoma Sooners, Taylor caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Three of those catches went for over 30 yards and he was working against one of the better secondaries in the conference.
He abused his man on a mismatch out of the slot for a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter. In the fourth, he made an absolutely ridiculous one-handed catch while being interfered with for a 41-yard gain.
The latter play was as good of a catch as we’ve seen from a Georgia player in the Kirby Smart era. It’s up there with Terry Godwin’s 2017 grab against Notre Dame.
"Gunner threw me a good ball. You've got to go make a play, and that's what I did," Taylor said. "The o-line did a good job holding up everybody, the tight ends did a good job holding up, the o-line gave Gunner enough time to throw me the ball. So I've just got to go make a play."
Talyn Taylor is emerging as Georgia's WR1
So far this season Taylor has flashed some No. 1 wide receiver potential. He’s shown he has elite long speed, crisp routes, lining up inside and outside, contested catches and some dynamic ability after the catch.
He’s quickly building a rapport with quarterback Gunner Stockton.
“Talyn had some great catches,” Stockton said after the Bulldogs’ 41-13 win over Oklahoma. “He's been making plays all camp and all this week. I thought he did a great job today. It's fun to see him celebrate and be explosive.
Taylor is the Bulldogs’ first five star receiver signee since George Pickens. Pickens had a fantastic freshman season in 2019 and led Georgia in receiving, but Taylor’s didn’t go the way he hoped.
He had an infamous dropped touchdown pass against Alabama late in the third quarter of a game the Bulldogs ultimately lost by three. Then, he sustained a significant upper-body injury in practice the next week and needed surgery. He was lost for the rest of the regular season and didn’t record any statistics when he returned for the postseason.
Taylor admitted he dwelled on that Alabama drop for a few days. For such a confident player, it was tough to have such a critical error in that spot, but his start to 2026 is all you need to see to know he’s moved past it.
“One moment doesn't define who I am,” Taylor said. "I definitely sat through a bunch of games with my injury. It was definitely hard. But just persevering through all of that, making sure I work on my craft, making sure I do what I need to do in the offseason and and every single day, just making sure I do what I need to do is what helped me strive through that.”
Head coach Kirby Smart said nothing has changed about Taylor since he entered the program, other than the opportunities he’s getting.
“He has confidence every day in practice, so it’s not one of those deals that I think all of a sudden he’s got confidence,” Smart said. “He had confidence going into this season. He had confidence at the end of last season. He’s just gotten an opportunity to showcase it, and he’s taking advantage of it.”
Smart acknowledged Taylor’s touchdown against Oklahoma came on a similar route than the Alabama drop. He called it “good retribution” for the sophomore. It sure looks like Taylor’s turned over a new leaf.
Talyn Taylor has been the answer for Georgia's lost production
The Bulldogs lost six of their top seven leading receivers from last year. The man who wore the No. 1 jersey Taylor now sports, Zachariah Branch, even broke the team record for receptions. There were a lot of questions about who’d pick up the receiving slack on this team in 2026.
We might have our top answer, and that could be a game-changer for Georgia’s offense.
“I know the type of player that I am,” Taylor said. “I know the plays that I can make and I know how I can help this team win. So, just making sure I have that confidence.”
Taylor has been more than a shot-play specialist or pure deep threat. He made serious plays after the catch in Georgia’s two games to start the year, primarily lining up out of the slot. Then, he showed the real big-play potential lining up primarily outside against Oklahoma.
Stockton needs a reliable No. 1 option on the outside who can also make plays in the quick game. Taylor looks like he fits the bill, and he’ll even get the chance to redeem himself against Alabama next week. If he stays healthy, he could be the top option in a very explosive Bulldogs offense this year.
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