Carson Beck made ‘bad decision’ declaring for NFL Draft: Todd McShay

Not everyone is on board with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck’s decision to leap to the pros.

Days after the 23-year-old quarterback declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, analyst Todd McShay criticized the move on his self-titled podcast, offering his own take and the opinions of those around the league.

“Carson Beck made a bad decision to leave early,” McShay said, as covered by Awful Announcing. “I texted a bunch of guys in the league, GMs former GMs, scouts. One scout wrote back to me, a one-word answer: foolish. I thought he got better late in the season as I said, but I don’t think he’s there yet. Played great in certain moments, I thought he played better late in the season, but he never this year played to the level that we, that many of us, expected him to play to.”

Beck has been the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback for the past two seasons after backing up Stetson Bennett on back-to-back national championship teams.

Beck entered this season at or near the top of most 2025 NFL Draft boards, however, he underwhelmed at times this season even as Georgia won the SEC Championship and is the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoffs.

Beck will miss Georgia’s CFP run that starts with Notre Dame on Wednesday while recovering from elbow surgery after suffering an injury in this month’s SEC Championship game against Texas.

The most recent batch of mock drafts do not include Beck going in the first round with Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe now the top quarterbacks.

Beck, who began his career at Georgia in 2020, threw more touchdowns this year (28) compared to his first season in the driver’s seat (24).

Although he still passed for more than 3,000 yards in both seasons (3,941 yards in 2023 and 3,485 yards in 2024), Beck’s interceptions doubled from six to 12 this season.

McShay, 47, later expanded on an alternate route Beck could have considered.

“I just don’t know that he’s ready,” the Ringer personality shared. “Why wouldn’t you take this time, rehab in the offseason, come back with a better supporting cast? They got a lot of young wide receivers. I know they’ve recruited well at wide receiver from what I can tell. Their offensive line will be better. They’ll be more balanced.

“Is [Beck] as ready as he would be had he gone back for one more year at Georgia? Everyone I talked to and my personal opinion is he’s not going to be.”

Beck formally declared for the NFL draft on Saturday in a heartfelt Instagram post, where he thanked his coaches, teammates and loved ones for their support.

“The past five years at the University of Georgia have been nothing short of a dream come true and I will forever cherish the memories that have been made,” Beck wrote. “Thank you Dawg Nation for the time i’ve been here and to those who’ve supported and believed in me, thank you. It’s been an incredible journey and all these moments have ultimately led me to take the next step in my football career. With that being said, I will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. Go Dawgs!”