Ask anyone within NFL Draft circles and they’ll be quick to tell you that this year’s class of quarterbacks is underwhelming compared to last year’s. Last year’s class produced five top-10 NFL Draft picks, including the first three selections. A sixth quarterback, Bo Nix, went No. 12.

Entering the season, many in those circles and in college football thought Georgia quarterback Carson Beck would be a first-rounder. But now most are asking each other, “What happened to him?”

An NFL scout who has spent two decades in the business told The Athletic Sunday, the day after Beck’s Bulldogs lost at Ole Miss, 28-10, that the star quarterback had been his and his NFL team’s top-rated QB coming into this season. The longtime scout, like others granted anonymity to speak honestly about Beck’s draft trajectory, said he thought that, had Beck entered the 2024 draft, he could’ve been picked late in the first round.

“Had he come out last year, he was on such a good trajectory,” the scout said. “I thought he and Jayden Daniels were the two most improved guys. There was a chance he was going to sneak into the late first round last year.”

Beck and the Bulldogs opened the season strong, blowing out then-No. 14 Clemson, 34-3, but once SEC play began, Beck began struggling; in particular, he has had all sorts of issues turning the ball over. In seven SEC games, Beck has thrown 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Last year, in his first season as a starter, he threw 15 touchdowns and only four picks.

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The scout said Beck was no longer their top QB prospect. And The Athletic’s NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler believes that, if the draft were happening tomorrow, Beck would be a third- to fifth-rounder and no lock for a top-100 selection.

“He’s got the quickest release of all these guys,” said the NFL scout. “To me, Shedeur (Sanders) has had the least rough patches. He’s probably been the cleanest.

“When you watch (Georgia’s) tape, their offensive line has struggled,” he added. “Some of those guys have been dinged up. They’re leakier than last year. I think that’s exposing his (lack of) mobility, and we’ve seen him get antsy. There’s a clear lack of poise. The first half against Alabama was really bad (Beck threw two of his three interceptions).

“He’s struggling now. He was our No. 1 guy coming into the year. But now, the combination of the lack of mobility and the lack of poise … You’ve got to have one or the other. If you’re gonna be stuck in the pocket and can’t really get out of there that well, you’d better be able to hang in and be tough, and have poise to make throws with people bearing down on you.”

Another piece to the puzzle scouts try to sort out beyond the film is how players handle any personal issues. With the onset of name, image and likeness (NIL) in college sports, pro personnel people have tried to dig into how that has impacted players. Last winter, Beck made headlines after he posted pictures on Instagram that he was getting a Lamborghini Urus Performante. That’s also something folks in the NFL world have taken note of.

“I would dig into the NIL stuff and how seriously he’s been approaching football and eliminating the distractions and being focused on what he should be focusing on,” the veteran scout said.

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A second NFL scout said Beck’s struggles this year are a reminder of how much all the pieces around a quarterback can impact performance: “I still think he’s talented, but he looks rattled now.”

An SEC defensive coach who played Beck in the last month pointed to both the Bulldogs’ struggles up front and the team’s “big deficiencies” at receiver.

It certainly hasn’t helped Beck that he no longer has trusted elite playmakers, like tight end Brock Bowers (drafted No. 13 overall in 2024) or wideout Ladd McConkey (No. 34 overall). But those are only a few reasons why Beck doesn’t look like the same quarterback.

“It seems like Beck’s forcing things instead of letting the game come to him,” the SEC coach said. “He’s throwing into coverage a lot. They (Georgia) have really good running backs, like they always do, but they just don’t have any home-run hitters on the outside.

“They’re not what they used to be. He (Beck) doesn’t have those guys who can go win and make plays. It might also be because he’s been hit and sacked, so he’s begun to look at the rush a little more. When we played him, you could see that he was worried about that rush. We saw that on the film.”

Another SEC coach, a defensive coordinator who also played Georgia this past month, echoed those comments, as did a second SEC DC who played Georgia this season.

“I think he’s still done a bunch of good things,” the first DC said. “He’s got a really good arm and he’s accurate. I think he sees the picture well. I just think he’s pressing. He’s trying to make some throws, trying to stick them into really tight windows. He shouldn’t be doing that, but he is. I think he’s feeling the pressure. Their receivers aren’t getting as much separation. He’s still really good, but he’s just making some bad decisions.”

It also is worth noting that the Bulldogs have played one of the hardest schedules in the nation so far, according to both The Athletic’s Austin Mock and per ESPN FPI, which the College Football Playoff committee cites. They have faced four of the nation’s top 13 defenses this season (No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 12 Alabama and No. 13 Auburn) and will play the No. 3 defense this Saturday when Tennessee visits.

Brugler notes that Beck will have plenty of high-leverage opportunities on the horizon to change his narrative, and to prove to scouting circles he’s the first-rounder many thought he was last season.

(Top photo: Justin Ford / Getty)