College Football WR Rankings 2024: Luther Burden III Tops Preseason List Of Best NCAA Wide Receivers

As the 2024 college football season kickoff nears, we’ve already counted down our top 10 quarterbacks and top 10 running backs heading into the Fall football season. Now, we’re looking at the top pass catchers in the country, many of whom will be catching passes from quarterbacks on our top quarterback list.

Marvin Harris Jr., out of Ohio State, claimed the 2023 Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s top pass catcher.

Everyone on our list will be a Biletnikoff hopeful in 2024, and they’re all skilled enough to be sitting with the trophy come December.

Some may have a problem with Travis Hunter making this list, and that’s ok. The reality is that Hunter is one of the best pass defenders in the nation, and his future may very well be on the defensive side of the ball. But his ability as a pass catcher can not be denied.

Catching 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns in just nine games, Hunter showcased his exceptional talent on the offensive side of the ball. To put that in perspective, the last Colorado receiver to hit all three marks as high as Hunter was Laviska Shenault back in 2018—and Hunter achieved this while also playing defense and missing three games.

One of the offseason’s most intriguing questions is how Hunter’s role will evolve in 2024. Whether he can endure the rigors of playing both ways for an entire season again remains uncertain. However, Hunter’s rare talent is unquestioned, making him a dangerous threat anywhere on the field.

Isaiah Bond was one of the biggest surprises in the 2024 transfer portal. He was coming off an excellent year for Alabama alongside Jalen Milroe. Now he’s headed to Texas, where he’ll catch passes from Quinn Ewers, another top-10 quarterback.

Texas has to replace No. 1 option Xavier Worth, who is now in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. They believe Bond can be that guy.

Bond, known for catching Jalen Milroe’s dramatic fourth-and-a-million pass to beat Auburn, had a solid season in 2023 despite not putting up astronomical numbers. Bond’s route-running and separation skills stood out in his first year as a starter. He finished the season with 48 catches for 668 yards and four touchdowns at Alabama.

A former Georgia high school sprint champion in the 100 and 200 meters, Bond has exceptional speed. As he develops, he is poised to become a reliable deep threat for the Longhorns, using his speed and precise route-running to stretch defenses and create big plays.

Ricky White is set for an even more impressive 2024 season after a standout 2023 season. The UNLV Rebels wide receiver has been named a preseason All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation. White, a former Michigan State Spartan, enters 2024 as college football’s leading returning receiver, having set a school record with 1,483 yards last fall.

He also matched the UNLV single-season record with 88 receptions and became the first Rebel to achieve five consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards. Despite offers from higher-profile schools and the potential for more money, White chose to remain in Las Vegas to complete what he started with the Rebels.

As the only G5 player on our list, White is a name to keep an eye on and will undoubtedly be a higher-round pick at the 2024 NFL Draft.

On our list of top 10 quarterbacks, we discussed Miami quarterback Cam Ward being a big reason Miami fans believe they may enter the conversation of national relevance in 2024 by battling for a spot in the 12-team CFP. Another primary reason Miami may have a high-powered offense again is Xavier Restrepo.

Restrepo had a breakout year with the Miami Hurricanes in 2023, setting the program’s single-season receptions record with 85 catches and surpassing 1,000 receiving yards with a total of 1,092. After three relatively quiet seasons, Restrepo delivered one of the best performances by a receiver in school history.

The South Florida native became just the sixth Hurricanes receiver to break the 1,000-yard mark in a season. His stellar play earned him first-team All-ACC honors. Restrepo’s standout moment came in a loss to Louisville, where he caught eight passes for 193 yards and a touchdown late in the year.

Restrepo and Ward could be one of the nation’s top QB/WR duos in 2024.

Many college football fans may not know the name Caullin Lacy. But by the end of 2024, they will. The do-it-all slot receiver who transferred from South Alabama to Louisville is one of the most dynamic receivers in the entire country.

Over the past four seasons, Lacy has grown tremendously, increasing his receptions from 11 in 2020 to 41 in 2021, 64 in 2022, and 91 in 2023. He emerged as one of the nation’s top return men in 2022. He’s taking the next logical step in his career: testing his skills at a Power 5 school.

Lacy was a standout deep threat, ranking 18th in receiving yards on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield and averaging 14.5 yards per reception despite many short routes. As the No. 1 target in the Jaguars’ passing attack, he was targeted on 30% of his routes and accounted for 38% of his team’s receiving yards. Opponents struggled to contain him, as he surpassed 100 yards in eight of his 12 games.

Lacy will be a menace in the ACC, as the Cardinals will get super creative in getting the ball into his hands.

Johnson will go from Bo Nix to Dillon Gabriel, who made our list of top 10 quarterbacks. Johnson is coming off an excellent season in which he was the No.2 pass-catching option.

In 2023, Johnson had a record-breaking season for Oregon, setting a new single-season mark with 86 receptions. His 1,182 receiving yards were the third-highest in the school’s history, and his ten touchdowns tied for fourth place.

Highlighting his consistency, Johnson set a career-best with 12 catches in a game against California, tying for the third-most in a single game at Oregon. He also delivered an impressive performance in the 2024 VRBO Fiesta Bowl, recording 11 receptions for 172 yards, the second-most in Oregon’s bowl game history.

Johnson’s prowess extended beyond just catching the ball. He was exceptional in contested situations, securing over half of such catches. After the catch, he averaged over 3 yards per reception, forced 17 missed tackles, and amassed 727 yards—more than any other Power Five receiver last year. His reliability was also noteworthy, as he caught 78.9% of his targets, ranking third among all FBS receivers with at least 100 targets and first in the Power Five.