Georgia football fans may still be having nightmares about the Bulldogs' struggles to catch the ball in the past, and unfortunately that same problem might be occurring this year already.
Two years after the Bulldogs led the FBS in dropped passes with 36 drops during the 2024 season, Georgia reportedly had a rash of drops at its first fall scrimmage last Saturday. That is one of the last things Gunner Stockton wants to see when he is expected to take a big leap this season and help lead Georgia to a deep playoff run.
Georgia's pass catching woes are creeping back up during fall scrimmage
Georgia's first fall scrimmage last Saturday likely featured play calling that was very vanilla on both sides of the ball. The last thing they want to do is tip off their scheme in any way at this point in the year, and the offense is still learning how to gel together. Even with that it’s never good to see dropped passes.
According to DawgNation, wideouts Isiah Canion, Kaiden Prothro, Talyn Taylor and Sacovie White-Helton each dropped balls. It wasn’t just the receiver room either. Tight ends Jaden Reddell and Elyiss Williams were both reported to have had drops as well.
This may be part of a recurring problem. Last Sunday, Kirby Smart reportedly told the pass catchers the team was “going to start counting dropped passes”.
It could be a concerning development for a team looking to throw the ball downfield more in 2026. Last season, only 39 percent of Georgia’s passing yards came on throws more than 10 yards down the field, which ranked 126th out of 134 FBS teams.
The Bulldogs are looking to find explosive plays without relying on deadly yards-after-catch threat Zachariah Branch, who declared for the NFL draft after 2025. If they can’t trust their receivers to make catches down the field, it makes that goal much more challenging.
“Through the spring practice and these six practices, we've talked about pushing the ball downfield, being aggressive, and you learn what you can and can't do,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.
The 2024 offense’s crop of pass catchers lacked a clear No. 1 option, which seems to be the case with this year’s group too. But the Bulldogs need the similarities to end there.
Gunner Stockton needs his pass catchers to be more reliable
Quarterback Gunner Stockton has nearly a completely new cast of characters to throw to this season, and he is still refining his own downfield game. Dropped passes becoming an issue could really damage the confidence of both the receivers and the quarterback and lead to them never quite landing on the same page.
That’s one of the things that plagued the 2024 team. Quarterback Carson Beck, by that point a far more refined downfield passer than Stockton is now, seemed to start playing more hero ball as the season went on.
That season he threw 12 interceptions, which tied for the SEC lead. Nine of them came in a four-game stretch between October and November. Stockton dealing with the same rash of turnovers could capsize Georgia’s offense this season, especially if he can’t flash the same high-end vertical passing ability Beck could.
The good news for Georgia is two-pronged— No. 1, it’s mid-August. Now is the time to get these kinds of mistakes out of your system so they don’t recur throughout the real season.
No. 2, there is a much better running game to fall back on this season than what the Bulldogs had in 2024. That year, Georgia had the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the SEC. They return most of the core group from 2025’s team that had the fourth-best rushing attack in the conference. That group could keep improving.
But for Stockton and this passing offense to make the leap they need in 2026, dropped passes cannot become an issue. The Bulldogs can’t afford to lead the FBS in drops again, or even be in the top 15, for that matter. Smoothing this out will be a crucial goal as they continue fall camp.
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