Zachariah Branch

Former wide receiver at Georgia. 2025: 81 catches, 811 receiving yards, 6 TD.

WR · Georgia · Jr. · #1

5′10″ · 180 lb · Las Vegas, NV

CFB Index 78 · #44 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceAll-ConferenceDrafted by Atlanta — Rd 3, Pick 15, #79 overall

How he plays

Wins underneath on volume and route precision.

Catch rate: 90th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

811

receiving yards · 2025

81 catches · 6 TD · 10 per catch

Backed by 10 rec · 112 yds -- top 1% catches game. -- Best game: 8 rec, 67 yds, 1 TD, vs Ole Miss

Swing playSwung USC from 15% to 43% to win.Nebraska at USC · 28-20

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former wide receiver at Georgia. 2025: 81 catches, 811 receiving yards, 6 TD.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to USC in 2022.
Transferred from USC to Georgia in 2025.
Drafted round 3 by the Atlanta in 2026.

The full story, with sources

How it ended

Three seasons at Georgia, 1,634 receiving yards, an All-American season (2023) — drafted at #79 overall by Atlanta.

His career

He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.

The week the volume broke through — put up 112 yds at Florida.Florida · W 24-202025

2022

Signed with USC4-star out of Bishop Gorman

202312 games

Signed with USC5-star out of Bishop Gorman
All-Americafirst · 4 selectors
All-Pac-12First Team

202412 games

All-Big Ten

202514 games

Entered the portal
All-SECsecond

2026

Drafted by Atlantaround 3, pick 79

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★★

#4 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2023–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

R3 · #79

Atlanta · 2026

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

10 honors · 2 categories

🥇

ALL-AMERICA

Named All-American (2023)

4 selectors honored him

🎖

ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM

All-SEC 2nd team (2025)

Badges

Top-10 Recruit

Coaching lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach

2023–2025

Kirby Smart

Georgia

Played his entire career under Kirby Smart.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

Atlanta2026 NFL rookie season

#79Rd 3 · Pick 15

Atlanta2026 NFL rookie season

View college career stats ↓

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2023USC8-5HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning, slow tempo

2024USC7-6HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning

2025Georgia12-2HC: Kirby Smart · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

78All-Conference level #44 of 485?

High confidenceAscending12 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: catch rate (90th percentile). Strength: receptions (98th percentile). Concern: yards / catch (17th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#81 / 798 · 90th pct

81.2%

EPA / target#257 / 798 · 68th pct

0.53

TD rate#314 / 798 · 60th pct

3.1%

Explosive rate#335 / 798 · 58th pct

11.5%

Yards / catch#543 / 798 · 32nd pct

10.2

Box-score rates (7)

Receptions#10 / 558 · 98th pct

Rec yards#64 / 558 · 89th pct

811

Rec TDs#56 / 558 · 87th pct

Long catch#277 / 558 · 50th pct

Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct

Rush yards#176 / 287 · 38th pct

Yards / catch#462 / 558 · 17th pct

10.0

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

22nd → 68th percentile

Explosive rate

68th → 58th percentile

Catch rate

59th → 90th percentile

TD rate

7th → 60th percentile

Yards / catch

37th → 32nd percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

29%28 of his 96 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 14 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home8g	4.9	49.9	11.4	0.2
Road6g	7.0	68.7	10.2	0.7

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	5.0	51.1	11.7	0.4
Weeks 8+7g	6.6	64.7	10.1	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Kirby Smart

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

78 · #44 of 485 WRs

Former five-star. Now #44 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Georgia	81	811	10.0	6	--
2024	USC	47	503	10.7	1	--
2023	USC	31	320	10.3	2	--
Career		159	1,634	10.3	9	--

Season	Team
2025	Georgia	4	7	205	180	--
2024	USC	2	17	105	74	--
2023	USC	9	70	448	332	1
Career		15	94	758	586	1

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 8 · 2025

W 43–35

vs Ole Miss

8 rec · 71 yds

Edged out Ole Miss at home in a shootout.

With G. Stockton — 289 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 96.9 · 59 rush yds (10 car) · 1 TD · D. Bell — 19 rush yds (2 car)

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 3 · Tennessee · 3&7 · Q2 · EPA +4.30Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 36 yds for a TD (Peyton Woodring KICK)
Week 10 · Florida · 3&5 · Q3 · EPA +3.95(12:10) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 G.Stockton pass complete short middle to #1 Z.Branch caught at UGA36, for 42 yards to the FLA27 (#18 B.Thornton), 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Ole Miss · 4&9 · Q4 · EPA +3.71Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 16 yds to the MISS 36 for a 1ST down
Week 1 · Marshall · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +3.61Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 47 yds for a TD (Peyton Woodring KICK)
Week 1 · Marshall · 3&4 · Q1 · EPA +3.21Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 25 yds to the MRSH 39 for a 1ST down
Week 1 · Ole Miss · 3&13 · Q2 · EPA +3.15Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 15 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Week 3 · Tennessee · 4&3 · Q1 · EPA +3.11Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 13 yds to the TENN 39 for a 1ST down
Week 1 · Ole Miss · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA +2.94Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 18 yds for a TD (Peyton Woodring KICK)
Week 14 · Georgia Tech · 3&4 · Q4 · EPA +2.89(09:09) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 G.Stockton pass complete deep middle to #1 Z.Branch caught at UGA49, for 23 yards to the UGA49, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Marshall · 3&5 · Q1 · EPA +2.23Gunner Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 23 yds to the MRSH 22 for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 14 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 45-7vs Marshall	3	95	31.7	1	47
Wk 2	W 28-6vs Austin Peay	3	17	5.7	0	17
Wk 3	W 44-41@ Tennessee	5	69	13.8	1	36
Wk 5	L 21-24vs Alabama	3	35	11.7	0	22
Wk 6	W 35-14vs Kentucky	4	18	4.5	0	8
Wk 7	W 20-10@ Auburn	9	57	6.3	0	13
Wk 8	W 43-35vs Ole Miss	8	71	8.9	0	26
Wk 10	W 24-20@ Florida	10	112	11.2	0	42	Season-high 112 yds
Wk 11	W 41-21@ Mississippi State	8	68	8.5	1	19
Wk 12	W 35-10vs Texas	6	41	6.8	0	30
Wk 13	W 35-3vs Charlotte	4	55	13.8	0	19
Wk 14	W 16-9@ Georgia Tech	5	53	10.6	1	24
Wk 15	W 28-7@ Alabama	5	53	10.6	1	17
Bowl	L 34-39vs Ole Miss	8	67	8.4	1	18
Total		81	811	10.9	6	47

How he plays

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

CFB Index positional classification

Money down · 3rd-down role

Money down

fact

16/283rd-down conversions

1.153rd-down EPA/target

0.28Other-downs EPA/target

19 of 28 caught on third down (67.9%) — EPA/target 1.15 vs 0.28 elsewhere (16 conversions).

Catch rate is disclosed context only, never the gate — conversions and EPA/target are. Interception targets carry no attribution row at any source, so EPA/target here is unfixably, slightly inflated.