Georgia looks to unlock tight ends

ATHENS — Georgia has no shortage of options at tight end.

Finding ways to get the most out of them is the challenge.

The Bulldogs enter the 2026 season with one of their deepest position groups at tight end at a time when their offense is searching for playmakers following the departure of six of its top seven pass-catchers from last season.

That would seem to create an obvious opportunity for senior Lawson Luckie and a talented collection of tight ends behind him.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart agrees — to a point.

“They’ve got a tremendous, talented room,” Smart said. “But if you chart explosive plays, those aren’t always the tight end room.”

Smart’s point is that Georgia’s tight ends can be valuable without necessarily becoming the primary source of big plays in the passing game.

“I love our tight ends,” Smart said. “We’ve got great tight ends. But they’re not guys that are hitting 22 and 23 miles an hour. They’re guys that can do all kinds of grunt work. They can catch balls in the flats, they can block people, they can play on special teams.”

They may be asked to do even more this season.

Georgia lost players responsible for 67.9% of its receptions from 2025. Zachariah Branch, Colbie Young and Dillon Bell are among the departed targets, leaving London Humphreys as the most experienced member of a receiving corps that will be relying heavily on younger players.

The tight ends provide considerably more experience and depth.

Luckie is the most productive returning player in the group and enters his senior season expecting to play a major role. He believes his versatility is one of his greatest strengths and said he added needed weight during the offseason.

There is competition behind him.

Luckie called second-year tight end Ethan Barbour one of the toughest players he has seen come through Georgia and praised the way Barbour approaches practice each day.

Smart has been similarly complimentary of Jaden Reddell, noting the work he put in during the summer was recently recognized by Georgia’s strength staff.

And the list doesn’t end there.

Elyiss Williams, Kaiden Prothro, Colton Heinrich, Lincoln Keyes and Brayden Fogle give Georgia an unusually deep collection of options at the position.

“It is a talented room, and it’s an extremely competitive room,” Smart said.

The question is how offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and the Bulldogs turn all that talent into production.

Georgia’s tight ends accounted for only 15% of the team’s receptions last season, but their contribution increased when the Bulldogs created bigger plays.

Georgia completed 42 passes of at least 20 yards in 2025, and nine came from tight ends. Of the Bulldogs’ 72 completions covering at least 15 yards, tight ends accounted for 14.

Smart believes creating more of those opportunities begins somewhere other than the passing game.

It starts with running the football.

A productive running game forces linebackers and safeties to respect what is happening in the backfield. That, in turn, creates opportunities for tight ends off play-action.

Georgia didn’t take advantage of those situations consistently enough last season, something Smart has emphasized throughout the offseason.

There is also another part of the job he doesn’t want his tight ends overlooking.

“At the end of the day, there has to be buy-in from those rooms, and there has to be a culture and belief that, ‘I’m 230 pounds. My advantage is I can bully people on the perimeter,’” Smart said.

Do that effectively, Smart said, and Georgia’s tight ends can make life easier for everybody else.

“If they use that wisely, it makes our skill players, receivers and running backs even better,” he said.

That’s why evaluating the position strictly by receptions can be misleading.

A tight end who seals the edge can spring a running back. One who draws a safety toward the line of scrimmage can create space for a receiver. And once the defense begins worrying about those things, play-action can create the opportunities Georgia wants downfield.

When those opportunities arrive, Luckie knows what has to happen.

“It’s about just playing clean football,” Luckie said. “You can’t miss your shots when you call them.”

Georgia certainly has enough tight ends to take them.

Now the Bulldogs have to find ways to make them count.