Georgia has a number of positions of need entering the 2025 season. After losing to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff last season, the Bulldogs will be looking to reload on both offense and defense.
Georgia is expected to lose a few key players from the defense (shocker, we know), including Jalon Walker, Malaki Starks and Mykel Williams, all of whom could be taken in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft next month.
Fortunately for Bulldog fans, ESPN’s Chris Low thinks Kirby Smart‘s incredible recruiting is going to pay off once again. In ESPN’s list of breakout players for each of the way-too-early top-25 teams, Low mentioned 2024 5-star DB KJ Bolden as his pick for the Dawgs:
One of the best young defenders in the SEC last season, Bolden made his presence felt on the back end of that Georgia defense. As a true freshman, Bolden was overshadowed by All-American safety Malaki Starks but rose up and played some of his best football in the postseason. He’ll only get better in 2025 and will be one of the anchors in a Georgia secondary that is also returning some talented young cornerbacks. Bolden is an excellent open-field tackler and, according to Pro Football Focus, gave up only eight yards in 134 coverage snaps last season.
Bolden finished his freshman season with 59 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 pass breakup and 1 forced fumble.
We’ll see if he can make his sophomore season even better this fall.