Carson Beck figures to be the most disappointing quarterback in 2025 NFL Draft class
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck officially ended his tenure as a Bulldog on Saturday, announcing on Instagram that he would be entering the 2025 NFL Draft.
Beck's season was already over for Georgia, the quarterback underwent surgery on an elbow injury earlier this week.
But don't expect the signal caller to be the next Matthew Stafford coming from Athens; he's much more likely to struggle mightily at the next level.
Beck came into this season as one of the top quarterbacks in what was an uninspiring draft class. ESPN's Mel Kiper listed him as one of the top two quarterbacks in the class along with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, while Dane Brugler of The Athletic listed him as the best passer in the class and the eighth-best prospect overall. Bleacher Report's scouting department had a similar take, ranking him as the second quarterback off the board behind Sanders, going seventh to the Las Vegas Raiders.
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It's easy to see why; Beck is a classically built pocket passer, standing 6'4" and weighing 220 pounds. He's got a good arm, and is capable of making all the throws you need to compete at the next level. He's not the most athletic player but he's got enough mobility to get out of the pocket if things get dicey, making the occasional play with his legs.
But, when presented with the opportunity to cement himself as the top passer in a pretty wide open class, Beck stumbled badly. ESPN now lists him as the fourth-best quarterback in the class, behind Sanders, Miami's Cam Ward, and Alabama's Jalen Milroe. Bleacher Report similarly has him fourth in the class, the 44th-best prospect on the board, while The Athletic's most recent consensus big board has him outside the top 50 entirely.
What happened? In short, Beck has not shown himself capable of making good decisions under pressure, and occasionally makes poor decisions in clean pockets, as well. He's very much a rhythm and timing passer; when he gets going, things go well for him. If the pocket is consistently clean, and he's given consistent time to make throws, Beck has shown he can make them, especially over the middle of the field.
But when you get him under pressure, or throw off his timing? Things get ugly. He threw 12 picks this season, and 11 of those 12 came during a five-game stretch from September 28th against Alabama until November 9 against Ole Miss. Beck doesn't make good throws on the run, and isn't enough of an athletic threat to make a ton of plays with his legs.
He struggled to elevate an admittedly lackluster Bulldogs receiving corps this season; it was clear he badly missed former teammates Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers, who made a lot of things look easy for the Georgia offense in the past. Without them, Beck needed to be able to elevate his game and throw players open more frequently, and against good defenses, he largely couldn't do that.
If you're an NFL GM of a rebuilding team looking for your franchise quarterback, none of those things should inspire any confidence in Beck. At least with someone like Jalen Milroe the occasional ghastly interception is interspersed with absolutely sublime athletic feats. With Beck, those moments come in more workmanlike performances where you absolutely cannot afford to throw those sorts of picks.
And when you mix that with Beck coming off surgery on his throwing elbow, you get the biggest buyer beware warning of any of the top quarterbacks in the class.
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