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Stadium Rant
Ranking The Top 10 Wide Receivers In College Football
By William Luke Hendrick,
21 days ago
With Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze all in the NFL, the window has opened for new names to emerge. The returning wide receivers on this list are arguably the most talented position group in the entire country.
So here's my list of the top ten wide receivers in college football:
Burden III showed up to Columbia as a highly touted prospect but was raw as a wide receiver, amassing only 45 receptions for 375 yards and six touchdowns in his freshman season.
In 2023, Burden looked like a different player, having over 114 yards in five straight games and scoring four touchdowns during that streak.
He's one of the best players with the ball in his hands, finishing third in yards after the catch (711), fourth in missed tackles (30), and fifth in yards after contact (300), per ESPN. He's the closest thing college football has to Deebo Samuel, so expect him to be used in various ways this Fall.
McMillan arrived in Arizona and made an instant impact as a freshman, bringing in 39 passes for 702 yards and eight touchdowns. Still, his sophomore season was his breakout campaign, bringing in 90 receptions for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping the Wildcats win ten games for the first time in a decade.
He has the second-most returning receiving yards in the nation and looks to build off that production, with quarterback Noah Fifita giving them one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the country.
McMillan will be relied on more heavily this season with the second, third, and fourth leading receivers, wide receiver Jacob Cowing, tight end Tanner McLachlan, and running back Micheal Wiley, all off to the NFL, but he can do that.
Last season, he ranked second in contested catches with 17, trailing only Rome Odunze, who had 20; he also has consistent hands regarding finishing, leading the nation with his 2.1% drop rate on 100 targets, per PFF.
Emeka Egbuka is one of the nation's top receivers but enters a prove-it year in 2024. Egbuka had a dominant 2022 season where he broke out, amassing 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 87 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
His 2023 didn't go as planned, suffering a mid-ankle sprain that held him out for three weeks. He only had 41 receptions, 515 yards, and four touchdowns.
With teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. now on the Arizona Cardinals, Egbuka is the undisputed No. 1 in a loaded Buckeye's receiver room. Transfer quarterback Will Howard will play a massive role if Egbuka has a bounce-back season.
Tez Johnson transferred from Troy to Oregon in 2023 and didn't miss a beat, becoming the Ducks' No. 2 wide receiver. However, he did fail to put up No. 2 receiver numbers, bringing in 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns on 86 receptions.
With Troy Franklin off to the NFL, Johnson is getting his chance to be the Ducks' No. 1 wide receiver. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, leading the country in yards after the catch, and was fifth in yards after contact (278) per PFF. Johnson will give new quarterback Dillion Gabriel a home run threat out of the slot from day one.
Xavier Restrepo had an up-and-down tenure with the Hurricanes before setting a single-season record for receptions (85) and finishing with 1,092 yards and six touchdowns.
He has a new quarterback, Cam Ward, who will rely on Restrepo early and often, and Restrepo is one of the best security blanket receivers in the nation, finishing third among returning Power Four receivers with 53 catches that either resulted in a first down or a touchdown, per PFF.
With Lane Kiffin declaring himself the "Portal King," it is no surprise that his top wide receiver was a portal addition. Harris started his career at Louisiana Tech before transferring to Ole Miss in 2023; he became the Rebels' top receiver, amassing 54 receptions for 985 yards and eight touchdowns with a blistering 18.2 yards per catch.
With another season under his belt and quarterback Jaxson Dart returning, Harris is set for another elite season and led one of the nation's top receiver rooms.
Caullin Lacy has seen improvement every year of his career with the Jaguars, and then, in 2023, he took off.
Lacy is at his best with the ball in his hands, ranking first in both yards after the catch and yards after contact. He was targeted on 30% of his routes and accounted for 38% of the team's receiving yards, finishing seventh in the nation with receiving yards while the defenses knew who was getting the ball.
Lacy has been a productive player in Conference USA, but it's time to see if he can replicate that success at the Power Four.
Don't let the fact that he plays for UNLV fool you. Ricky White is the real deal.
He finished third in receiving yards (1,483), trailing only 2024 first-round picks Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers. Somehow, the Rebels keep him in the new world of the transfer portal, and he could be a high draft pick in the next draft cycle.
9. Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
2023 Stats: 62 receptions, 1,013 yards, 16.3-yard catch, six touchdowns
Ayomanor had a slow start to his career, suffering a torn ACL, MCL, and a meniscus in 2022, ending his season.
In 2023, he took advantage of being healthy. He amassed 1,103 yards and six touchdowns, with his week seven performance against Colorado going off for 13 receptions, 294 yards (program record), and three touchdowns, all in the second half/overtime while being guarded by future first-round pick Travis Hunter. He did all this while dealing with subpar quarterback play, having the 202nd and 205th-ranked quarterback grades, per PFF.
10. Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State
2023 Stats: 101 receptions, 991 yards, 9.8-yard catch, six touchdowns
Even though the Cowboys' offensive focal point will be based around its elite run game headlined by the nation's top running back, Ollie Gordon II Presley will still be a top receiver for the Pokes.
Presley is still one of the nation's best wide receivers with the ball in his hands. Since 2022, he has finished third in yards after catch (1,099) and has forced 51 missed tackles, tied for the second-most during that same span, per PFF.
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