Gunner Stockton enters the 2026 season as a Heisman contender, but according to rival SEC coaches, his biggest flaws are hiding in plain sight. After an impressive 2025 season, there will be expectations on him to perform at his best once again in his second year as QB1. So, Stockton has to clean up some nagging flaws that troubled him in his last campaign.

Stockton’s growth in the 2026 season is paramount to Kirby Smart. The QB has to build on the significant progress he made as a first-year starter. He was a finalist for the Manning Award and is regarded as a contender for the Heisman this year. But despite these accomplishments, Stockton still has areas to improve. DawgsHQ’s Rusty Mansell pointed out two clear aspects where he has to improve.

“Tennessee played him man-to-man, and he shredded them,” Mansell noted on the February 2 episode of the Crain & Company Podcast. “I mean, he made some throws in that game. That’s what you want to do. You run off the coverage; he can hurt you with his legs. And if you give him one-on-one, Gunner’s got a good enough ball. The next progression for Gunner Stockton, and everybody started playing it, was playing zone. They were dropping back, making you dink and dump, making you make the reads and get down the field.”

“I talked to a couple teams that faced Georgia… they were like… we wanted to see Gunner had to beat us in the passing game. We were scared to death about the run game. But down the field, progressions, he had to beat us,” Mansell added.

Fans got to see what Stockton is truly capable of in the middle part of the 2025 schedule. But early in the season, zone coverage became a nagging factor. Stockton’s first four interceptions came against this lineup. Georgia Tech pressured Stockton a lot with zone coverage, and Georgia’s top receivers being more man-coverage oriented added to his troubles. The QB was forced to hand the ball off to the running backs or target the tight ends. But when it comes to man coverage, Stockton showed his prowess. Five of his six touchdowns were against this format, which shows that this will rarely be a problem for him in the game.

But even at that peak, the QB was hesitant to make deeper passes. His hesitancy on deep passes is a key area for improvement. Stockton completed only 36% of his long passes in the 2025 season, which has to be better this year. He averaged 7.5 yards per throw this season, the same as Ty Simpson. But the Alabama QB threw for 673 more yards, which shows how conservative Stockton has been. There is no doubt about Stockton’s rushing abilities; he needs to become more dangerous in the passing attack as a second-year starting QB.

Stockton also has to make some explosive plays with his feet. Sure, he’s a good enough runner to establish himself as a dual-threat quarterback. But his running ability isn’t threatening enough if he isn’t using his legs to create explosive plays and break tackles. This was a key difference between Stockton and Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss.

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The year-2 signal-caller impressed fans after some doubted his ability to replace Carson Beck. But in the 2025 season, he exceeded expectations multiple times. Leading Georgia to the semi-finals in his first year as the starter showcases his high potential.

Gunner Stockton also needs to adopt a bolder attitude

Stockton is not a rah-rah guy. He won hearts as QB1 for being a level-headed player who goes above and beyond on the field. Despite being the leader of one of the most prolific offenses in the SEC, Stockton still seemed like someone who preferred to blend into the crowd. While that’s a respectable attitude, former UGA QB Jake Fromm urged him to turn up the heat.

“(Stockton) needs to look back on this year and say ‘I exceeded a lot of expectations,'” he said on Dawgnation Daily. “He should have a lot of confidence going into next year. Being the guy, taking on more ownership from a leadership perspective and from an ownership perspective.”

The stakes are going to be high for the Georgia QB this year because he might be headed to the draft in 2027. If Stockton can refine these areas of his game, he won’t just separate himself as an elite QB, but could elevate Georgia’s offense to a national championship level.