College Football: The top-10 receiving corps in the country

1. Oregon Ducks

Between Tez Johnson and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart, Oregon has the best receiving duo in the sport. They were the only pair to both place inside the top-10 of my wide receiver rankings for next season, placing fourth and ninth respectively. Johnson led all Power Five receivers this past season with 727 yards after the catch. Stewart missed five games in 2023 due to a leg injury but the former top-10 overall recruit was second among FBS true freshmen in 2022 with 643 receiving yards.

In total, the Ducks return four of their five leading receivers from last season. Wide receivers Traeshon Holden and Gary Bryant Jr. combined for 892 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023. Tight end Terrance Ferguson was tied for fifth among all tight ends in the country last year with 13 forced missed tackles after the catch. His backup, Patrick Herbert, is also back for his redshirt senior campaign. 

And if all that’s not enough, Oregon also has a couple former five-star recruits in sophomore Jurrion Dickey and true freshman Gatlin Bair in tow.

2. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss brings back one of the nation’s 10 best wide receivers in Tre Harris and a top-10 tight end in Caden Prieskorn. Harris tied for sixth among FBS receivers in 2023 with an 89.6 receiving grade. Prieskorn is fourth among all tight ends in the country with 1,051 receiving yards over the last two years. The Rebels also return their No. 3 receiver in Jordan Watkins, who tied for seventh among SEC receivers with 21 catches that went for at least 15 yards.

Ole Miss was also one of the most active teams in the transfer portal this offseason. The big get was former South Carolina star receiver Juice Wells. He missed all but three games in 2023 due to a foot injury but was electric with the ball in his hands the year before. Wells’ 555 yards after the catch in 2022 stood third among Power Five pass-catchers. Virginia Tech tight end Dae’Quan Wright is also making the move to Oxford after posting the third-most receiving yards in the ACC last year for the position (366). 

3. Ohio State Buckeyes 

For the third year in a row, Ohio State has one of my top-three receiving corps in the country. It starts with Emeka Egbuka, my No. 3 wide receiver in college football and the veteran leader of the bunch. The rising senior battled injuries last season but was the second-most valuable receiver in the nation the year before according to PFF’s wins above average metric.

After Egbuka, the Buckeyes are unproven but extremely talented. All eyes will be on true freshman Jeremiah Smith who was the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024. He’s the highest-rated wide receiver recruit since 2004, On3 Sports’ first year of industry ratings. Ohio State also has three other players who were among the 10 highest-rated wide receivers in their respective classes: Carnell Tate (2023), Brandon Inniss (2023) and Mylan Graham (2024). 

4. Georgia Bulldogs

Even after losing the greatest tight end in college football history, Brock Bowers, Georgia still has a top-five receiving corps thanks in large part to its tight end room. Among returning FBS tight ends, Stanford transfer Benjamin Yurosek leads them all in receiving yards over the last three seasons (1,338). He’s my No. 4 tight end in college football entering next year. Oscar Delp is an elite athlete who was open on 96.6% of his targets last year. That figure placed him in the 99th percentile for all tight ends in the nation.

Dominic Lovett is back for his senior year and led all Bulldog receivers last year with 614 yards. Rara Thomas and Dillon Bell also returned and combined for 737 yards in 2023. Georgia added Colbie Young (Miami FL) and London Humphreys (Vanderbilt) via the transfer portal. Young paced the ACC with 12 contested catches in 2023 while Humphreys was second on his team with 437 receiving yards.

5. Texas Longhorns

Even after losing its five leading receivers from this past season to the NFL draft, Texas still cracks the top-five of this list due to its aggressiveness in the transfer portal. The Longhorns’ new No. 1 wide receiver (Isaiah Bond) and top tight end (Amari Niblack) both transferred in from Alabama. They’re both speed demons. Bond was second among FBS receivers last year with 18 plays where he hit at least 20 miles per hour in our GPS tracking. The only one who had more was Texas’ Xavier Worthy, who broke the 40-yard dash record at the NFL combine with a time of 4.21 seconds. Niblack meanwhile scored in the 99th percentile of our Game Athleticism Score.

Silas Bolden led Oregon State in receiving yards last year (741) and was second in the Pac-12 with a 28.4% target rate. Matthew Golden transferred in from Houston and tied for seventh among Big 12 receivers this past season with six receiving touchdowns. Johntay Cook II is entering his second year with the program and was a five-star recruit in the 2023 class. 

6. Missouri Tigers 

Missouri’s receiving corps is headlined by the best wide receiver in college football. Luther Burden III posted a 91.0 receiving grade in 2023, which was third in the FBS. He was also third in the nation with 724 yards after the catch.

The Tigers also have incredible depth aside from its superstar. In fact, they return their top-five leading receivers from a year ago: wide receivers Burden, Theo Wease, Mookie Cooper, Marquis Johnson and tight end Brett Norfleet. Wease’s 14 contested catches in 2023 tied for the most in the SEC. Johnson is a rising star and was ridiculously productive in limited action, posting 383 receiving yards. He was one of only two wide receivers in the nation with a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted.

7. Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Miami has three receivers who posted at least 800 yards last year. Xavier Restrepo leads that group with 1,102 yards and is one of my top-five receivers in the country. Jacolby George had the second-most yards after the catch in the ACC last season (540). Samuel Brown transferred to the Hurricanes this offseason after leading Houston in receiving yards (800) and placing second in the Big 12 with 20 forced missed tackles on receptions. 

8. Colorado Buffaloes

While the offensive line remains a question mark, Shedeur Sanders will once again have some very capable receivers to throw to. His top target will likely be the cover athlete of EA College Football 25, Travis Hunter. The two-way star was tied for third among Pac-12 receivers in 2023 with 18 forced missed tackles on receptions despite missing three games due to injury. Jimmy Horn Jr. also returns and led the team with six receiving touchdowns last season.

The Buffaloes also added a couple receivers in the transfer portal: FAU’s LaJohntay Wester and Vanderbilt’s Will Sheppard. Wester’s 1,164 receiving yards last year were a top-15 mark in the nation while Sheppard tied for ninth in the FBS with 14 contested catches.

9. LSU Tigers

Even after losing two first-round receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., LSU still has enough to crack the top-10 of this list. The Tigers brought in a couple of receivers from the transfer portal in Liberty’s CJ Daniels and Mississippi State’s Zavion Thomas. Daniels led the FBS with 3.94 yards per route run in 2023 while Thomas was second on the Bulldogs with 502 yards. 

As for returning players, LSU is expecting big things from Kyren Lacy in his fifth season. He was the Tigers’ No. 3 receiver last year and was second among Power Five receivers with a 150.6 passer rating when targeted. Mason Taylor is entering his third season as LSU’s top tight end and is fourth among returning Power Five tight ends with 439 yards after the catch since 2022. The Tigers also welcome a former five-star recruit at that position in true freshman Trey’Dez Green.

10. Oklahoma Sooners 

Oklahoma brings back five of its six leading receivers from a year ago, losing only Drake Stoops. Nic Anderson is the leader of those returners and was second in the Big 12 last year with 10 touchdowns to only Adonai Mitchell. Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony also came back and combined for 1,109 receiving yards this past season.

The Sooners also found a couple starting pass-catchers in the transfer portal in Purdue wide receiver Deion Burks and Baylor tight end Jake Roberts. Burks was second in the Big Ten with 18 forced missed tackles on receptions in 2023. Despite serving as Baylor’s backup tight end in 2023, Roberts was still ninth in the Big 12 at the position with 143 yards after the catch.