As Jake Fromm slid into infamy on Saturday afternoon, Georgia fans were there wincing along with him. For as bad as it was watching Fromm leave Georgia early and end up being picked in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills at No. 167 overall, it’ll be worse watching former Georgia quarterback Justin Fields — now thriving at Ohio State — go in the top 10 next season.

As Fromm’s slide became the hot talking point during the final day of the 2020 NFL draft, it underscored the obvious. Fromm should have returned to Georgia for his senior year. He’d never be a first-round pick, as his pedestrian arm and physical traits aren’t what the NFL is looking for. His poor NFL scouting combine performance buried him in a hole he couldn’t escape, as the coronavirus pandemic kept him from impressing teams on “30 visits,” in-person workouts and at a pro day. This became a draft where teams relied on tangibles, hurting those with elite intangibles like Fromm.

Fromm’s plunge this weekend highlights the glaring flaw — one of the few — in Kirby Smart’s four seasons at Georgia. Smart’s offense is headed into its third offensive coordinator in three years, coordinator uncertainty that’s trending toward Will Muschamp-like levels.

And that means Smart’s program both couldn’t find a way to maximize Fields’ talent, something that Ryan Day did immediately in Columbus, and also that he couldn’t find a way to build a talented enough offense to accommodate Fromm, the player who beat out Fields in 2018 and prompted the No. 1 quarterback recruit’s transfer. Smart had a pair of aces in his quarterbacks room, but somehow ended up having to fold his hand.

View photos Jake Fromm's plunge to the 2020 NFL draft's fifth round could give Kirby Smart a reputation at Georgia for poor quarterback development. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) More

All this may be more of an inconvenience and nuisance for Smart, as there will be consecutive years with what-could-have been noise around draft time at the quarterback position. Will that be enough to cause reputational damage? It’s difficult to say. That depends much on Georgia’s ability to get more out of the wide receiver position, the arrival of Todd Monken from the NFL and the impact of Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman. (Also, of course, the development of blue-chip freshman Carson Beck.)

Georgia’s sputtering offense

Why didn’t Fromm go back to Georgia to help his cause? And why did he fall so far?

Those questions have two entirely different answers. Part of the reason Fromm left Georgia is because the offense wasn’t suited to highlight his skills. Or anyone’s skills, really. He escaped an offense inhibited by a talent deficiency at wide receiver, inexperience at coordinator and nagged by a lack of creativity. Sure, there were two first-round picks at tackle and the electric D’Andre Swift. But there was little else, allowing defenses to stack the box.

“I don’t think there’s any question the offense held him back,” said an opposing defensive coach familiar with Georgia’s scheme. “Anytime you have a change at the coordinator position and it’s new, there’s going to be growing pains.”

That pain came when Jim Chaney left for Tennessee after the 2018 season and Smart replaced him from within with James Coley. The move was widely regarded as one to maintain recruiting momentum, mistakes we’ve seen set back South Carolina and N.C. State in recent seasons.

Coley had success as a play-caller in his past, but Georgia’s offense regressed significantly. It dipped from 37.9 points per game to 30.8, and Coley was in serious trouble after a 20-17 double-overtime loss to South Carolina in October.

Fromm’s unfiltered view of the offense in 2019 has never been voiced. But he spoke with his actions, declaring for the NFL draft on Jan. 8. From 2018 to 2019, his completion percentage dipped by nearly seven points (67.4 to 60.8), he threw six fewer touchdowns (30 to 24) and attempted 78 fewer passes (385 to 307).

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