College football has never moved this fast.
NIL and the transfer portal era have coalesced into a sport with rampant roster turnover. This is player agency at its most extreme, and with motives regarding one's education, earnings, and jump to the professional ranks, it's hard to blame athletes for taking full advantage.
Not every school is equally impacted. With the bankroll and pedigree to recruit in this new dimension, powerhouses can hunt for unhappy players and offer them the world before watching them leave for the NFL Draft.
The Georgia Bulldogs lured receiver Zachariah Branch to Athens with the promise of playing time in an SEC receiver corps. One season later, Branch is headed to the pros, boasting the benefits of the college football landscape and an intriguing skill set.
Zachariah Branch is headed to the NFL
On Monday, Branch announced his decision to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. The news comes after Georgia's loss to Mississippi in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
The conversation surrounding Branch, though, has been fairly polarized. There is first-round hype and Day 3 concerns, encouraging production and worrisome usage. While the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, he'll have to answer several questions during his pre-draft process and rookie season.
Among them is his ability to do "real receiver" things. We know Branch is fast and can rack up touches near the line of scrimmage. But the league is infiltrated with far more burners than we've seen in years past, and it's easy for speed-only receivers to burn out. Xavier Worthy caught four passes 20+ yards downfield in 2025. He's yet to clear 650 yards with the best quarterback on the planet.
If Branch can't separate consistently, it's easy to see him being relegated to a manufactured-touch role as a fourth receiver. Perhaps that elevates his floor, but that would be an unequivocal loss for an early-round selection (see, Malachi Corley).
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To Branch's credit, he's entering the draft off a promising platform year. He led the SEC in catches (81) for 811 yards and six touchdowns. His two drops on 78 targets are promising, too, albeit with an average depth of target of 3.3 yards (a truly incredible mark).
There's a world in which Branch immediately translates as a slot-based dynamo who dominates after the catch and exceeds expectations past the sticks. That receiver is an easy top-50 pick, but it's not a bet I'm trying to make.
At Georgia, Branch got the playing time and production he wanted when leaving the USC Trojans. The cost of that transfer was usage that bemoans skepticism. How trustworthy are hands that haven't been tested? How sticky are contested-catch numbers in a 20-catch sample?
Branch has athleticism that will draw comparisons to Tyreek Hill, and the best flashes of his after-the-catch ability are scarily similar. It was Hill's unique ability to track downfield passes, though, that made him a generation's best deep threat. In declaring for the NFL Draft, Branch will be tasked with proving that point against Pro Bowlers instead of All-Americans.
Ultimately, Branch wouldn't have declared if the NFL was showing hesitation. His skill set -- especially after he tests in Indianapolis -- should be enough to earn him top-75 draft capital, even if my board is less optimistic.
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