ESPN NFL Draft Analysts Matt Miller and Jordan Reid attempted to name the top five 2025 NFL Draft prospects at each position heading into the 2024 college football season. Several Georgia players made the list, with Carson Beck as the No. 1 quarterback by both analysts.
Beck put together a strong season as a first-year starter, completing 302-of-417 passes for 3,941 yards, the most in the SEC and third-most in the country, with 24 touchdown passes and six interceptions. His 72.4 completion percentage was fifth-best in the country and smashed the single-season program record set by Stetson Bennett in 2022 (68.28%). Beck had the second-most passing yards in a single season at Georgia, just 186 yards behind Stetson Bennett (2022 – 15 games). His 167.9 passer rating for the 2023 season was fourth-best in program history, behind Bennett (176.69 – 2022), Murray (174.82 – 2012), and Jake Fromm (171.21 – 2018). Beck began his career as a starter with 11 straight games of over 250 yards passing, the same number that Bennett had in 15 games during the 2022 season.
Florida transfer Trevor Etienne also made both top-five lists at running back, coming in at No. 5 for Miller and No. 4 for Reid. Stanford transfer Benjamin Yurosek is Miller’s No. 2 tight end prospect and is No. 3 in Reid’s top five. Miller has Tate Ratledge as his No. 3 guard prospect, with Reid listing Ratledge as No. 4 and Earnest Greene as No. 3. Jared Wilson is Reid’s No. 2 center.
On defense, Mykel Williams is Reid’s No. 1 edge prospect, with Miller listing him as his No. 3 edge. Williams didn’t take the step forward statistically in 2023 that most expected, but by the end of the year, he had his sights set on switching things up. Williams played in 13 games, making nine starts at defensive end, with 18 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble. In the Orange Bowl blowout win over Florida State, the sophomore moved from the standard defensive end position to a hybrid role, where he played defensive end in an even front and lined up as a stand-up edge rusher in an odd front. Williams was dominant in his debut, making four tackles and a strip sack which he recovered.
Nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse is Miller’s No. 5 defensive tackle prospect. Jalon Walker is Miller’s No. 3 linebacker prospect, while Smael Mondon is named the linebacker outside the top five to watch.
We were discussing Mondon as a top-100 prospect this time last year, but he returned to school and should be one of the nation’s best linebackers. At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, Mondon has excellent size and length, allowing him to be a three-down difference-maker who registered 42 tackles and three sacks last season. Improvement in pass coverage could make Mondon a top-five linebacker. –Miller
Malaki Starks is the No. 1 safety prospect for Miller and Reid. Starks made 14 starts in 2023, with 52 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass breakups, earning Consensus All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors. In 2023, Starks started the last 14 games of the season, finishing third on the team with 68 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries.
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