When you produce as much talent as the Georgia Bulldogs do, you learn to be able to lose a lot of players to the NFL Draft and start fresh each season. In fact, Georgia normally ranks in the country as one of the worst teams in terms of returning production.
However, based on Bill Connelly's SP+ returning production rankings, Georgia ranks No. 5 in the country in returning production. The last time they did this? 2018.
Now this might not look like much, but it is a much scarier stat than outside fans can imagine.
Kirby Smart gifted most experienced team since 2018
Since 2018, Georgia has not ranked higher than 28th in terms of returning production. In fact, they ranked outside the top 50 in every season besides 2024. It is worth mentioning that Georgia's back-to-back championship rosters ranked 92nd and 96th in returning production.
However, that is just what makes this stat so scary.
If Smart is able to dominate the college football landscape with returning talent that low, imagine what he could do with top five in the country. The last time he had that priviledge, the only thing that kept them from a potential title and playoff berth was the greatest offense in college football history in Joe Burrow's LSU.
This season, Georgia returns top 10 Heisman finalist Gunner Stockton as well as nearly the entire offensive line and backfield. The defensive side of the ball returns nearly every position, ranking even higher than the offense's returned production.
If you look at everyone around Georgia in this returned production, they were the only team in the top ten who made the playoff last season. Notre Dame ranks as the best in terms of returning production, but after that, the next SEC team is Oklahoma at 13. That means that Georgia has an even better shot to win the SEC title this season than they did the previous two seasons.
If Georgia fans weren't convinced Georgia can have a dominating season in 2026, this should be all the proof that they need.
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