Can Dillon Bell be This Season's Brock Bowers for Georgia?

Christian Goeckel | May 21, 2024

Nov 25, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Dillon Bell (86) / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Brock Bowers was Georgia's Swiss Army knife for three years. Can Dillon Bell pick up where Bowers left off for the Bulldogs in 2024?

Brock Bowers put together the most impressive career for a college football tight end ever. The California product won two national championships at Georgia and became the first tight end to ever win two John Mackey Awards.

Replacing Bowers' production will be difficult, especially when you look at how versatile he was as a weapon, playing with a hand down, in the slot, and even carrying the ball.

“I mean, you’re talking about probably the most dynamic player in college football at that tight end position in a long time,” said Raider's head coach Antonio Pierce, who selected Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. “It’s rare you get a guy like that [who] can line up as a slot receiver, see him in the backfield, reverses, catch the ball."

So how does Georgia replace that production? Most will point to tight end Oscar Delp who backed up Bowers the past couple of seasons, but Delp is more of a traditional tight end. That's not a slight, he's really good at what he does, but he's probably not getting jet sweeps drawn up for him. One player that might be able to fill the void is wide receiver Dillon Bell, at least according to one ESPN analyst.

"We haven't talked about the development of Dillon Bell and how he might be the next version of Brock Bowers," said ESPN College Football analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. "Now you're going to say 'He doesn't play tight end.', I understand that. But the versatility that Dillon Bell has showcased in his Georgia career is pretty remarkable, right? The guy was a slot receiver and an outside receiver and then hey, we have some running back depth issues, let's just move you back to running back and hand you the ball. That's what Dillon Bell's capable of."

McElroy has a point. Bell scored four touchdowns last year, two through the air and two on the ground. He also averaged 6.3 yards per carry on 25 attempts. With Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, Daijun Edwards, and Kendall Milton all off to the NFL, there will be plenty of touches for Bell to claim this fall.

Other Georgia News:

• Will Georgia Have a 1,000-yard Rusher in 2024?
• Georgia has Become an NFL Offensive Linemen Factory
• Georgia Football Dominating Last Five Years of NFL Draft

Join the Community:

Follow Christian Goeckel on Twitter: @Goeckelsi

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @DawgsDailyFN