Georgia has NFL talent everywhere in 2026. Ellis Robinson and KJ Bolden are a pair of ballers who headline the secondary. Raylen Wilson is back. There are former blue-chip players everywhere you look on this Georgia team.
But a weakness from 2025 is rearing its ugly head again this season, and that's Georgia's pass rush -- or lack thereof.
2025 seemed like an anomaly for Georgia under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs have hung their hat year after year on a ferocious pass rush and on making life extremely uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks, especially at Sanford Stadium. But that wasn't the case last season, with Georgia ranking 107th nationally in total sacks.
And it wasn't just about getting the quarterback on the ground for a loss. Every stat pointed to complete failure on the part of the pass rush.
QB pressure rate: 29.9% (90th in FBS)
Sack rate: 12.9% (128th in FBS)
Sacks per game: 1.43 (117th in FBS)
While those stats were not the norm for the Bulldogs, it was easy to chalk it up to youth, a large number of graduates and NFL entrants, and some injuries. Certainly, it would be fixed by this season, most thought.
Georgia's best laid plans for improving the pass rush went awry
Smart went out and got some immediate help, bringing in Auburn defensive end Amaris Williams to Athens out of the transfer portal. Williams showed flashes at Auburn, and with somewhat limited snaps, he still tallied 20 combined tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks through his first two seasons.
The addition of Williams, along with returning players, was the plan to fix Georgia's pass rush woes, but then, just days before the 2026 G-Day Game, it was reported that Williams had torn his ACL and was done for the year before ever lining up for the Dawgs.
In addition, yet another emerging defensive player, Xzavier McLeod, has decided to leave football altogether.
Georgia may enter a season with big expectations without a premier pass rusher. That's decidedly un-Georgia-like.
“We aren’t where we need to be in terms of pass rush, because we’re missing some guys in terms of dealing with Amaris (Williams) not being out there and some talent there. We’re having to do it in other ways,” Smart said, via DawgNation. “And we’ll have to do that probably all year in terms of the way we create pressure and how we go about it.”
And if Kirby Smart has to manufacture pressure schematically all season, you're potentially asking defensive backs to hold up longer or sacrificing coverage to bring blitzes from the corners and safeties.
That's a tough road to go.
The lack of defensive pressure could be Georgia's fatal flaw
In every respect you can think of -- skill positions, offensive line, quarterback, secondary, special teams -- Georgia is stacked and can match up with just about anyone in the nation. But the defensive line, which should be the calling card, is a work in progress.
Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson, who were some of Georgia's best run-stoppers last year, spent the offseason working on their pass rush skills with new outside linebackers coach Larry Knight.
Young players like Chase Linton and Zayden Walker could also potentially come into their own this season, but neither has looked the part of a pass-rushing beast yet.
But even Kirby Smart admitted he doesn't know where that pass rush is going to emerge from, and that's an admission that should have Georgia fans rightfully nervous, especially when looking at some of the quarterbacks Georgia will be facing this season.
The Bulldogs can't let athletic, dual-threat QBs like John Mateer, Trinidad Chambliss, Keelon Russell, and LaNorris Sellers get comfortable in the pocket or find easy ways to use their legs on the edge. Without some pressure forcing them to make snap decisions, the defensive series could be long and arduous for Georgia.
The lack of a pass rush will also put tremendous extra pressure on Mike Bobo, Gunner Stockton, and the Georgia offense if the Bulldogs end up getting into shootouts, and that's not Georgia's game -- as evidenced in last year's losses to Alabama and Ole Miss.
It's a single flaw, but one that could potentially have a bigger domino effect that costs Georgia important games in the regular season, but more importantly, a potential deep run in the College Football Playoff.
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