- Ohio State leads the way: The Buckeyes top this list since they have the two best receivers in college football, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
- Texas places second: The Longhorns have two top-five players at their positions in Xavier Worthy and Ja’Tavion Sanders with incredible depth behind them.
- Washington rounds out the top three: Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan make up the second-best wide receiver duo in the country.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
In today’s age of pass-heavy offenses, teams need more than just a primary target to throw to. Even secondary and tertiary options often aren’t enough oftentimes, which means teams need to have a deep receiving corps.
Here are the top-10 receiving corps in college football heading into the 2023 season. This list focuses on more than just the wide receivers that these programs feature, as tight ends and running backs can also positively impact the passing game.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State’s receiving corps features the two best receivers in college football, making them the no-brainer choice to lead this list.
According to PFF's wins above average metric, Marvin Harrison Jr. was the highest-graded and most valuable receiver last season. He could go down as the best receiver prospect in over a decade once he enters the NFL draft. Emeka Egbuka is the favorite to be WR2 in the 2024 draft behind Harrison and would be the top receiver for any other school in the country. Only Harrison tallied more receiving yards and touchdowns last season than Egbuka among returning Power Five receivers.
The Buckeyes return the remainder of their top-six receivers from a year ago as well, including Cade Stover, a top-10 tight end in the country. As a true freshman in 2021, TreVeyon Henderson was ninth among Power Five running backs with 312 receiving yards.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ohio State also welcomes in wide receivers Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, Noah Rogers and tight end Jelani Thurman — all of whom were top-10 recruits from the 2023 class at their respective positions.
I tore my ACL watching Marvin Harrison Jr. do this pic.twitter.com/4DHelh7VxZ
— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) November 13, 2022
2. Texas Longhorns
Like Ohio State, Texas has two top-five players at their respective positions in wide receiver Xavier Worthy and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Over the past two seasons, Worthy has the most receiving yards (1,738) and receiving touchdowns (20) among returning Power Five receivers. Sanders’ 613 receiving yards this past season trailed only Brock Bowers among returning Power Five tight ends.
The Longhorns also return Jordan Whittington, who’s been the No. 2 receiver behind Worthy in each of the last two seasons. Adonai Mitchell transfers in from Georgia and missed nine games in 2022 due to an ankle injury. However, he’s flashed some insane physical tools at 6-foot-4 that have already grabbed NFL scouts’ attention. Isaiah Neyor missed all of last season with a torn ACL but caught 12 touchdowns in 2021 while at Wyoming, tied for third among Group of Five receivers. Casey Cain is also back and was the No. 3 receiver for Texas last season.
The Longhorns also brought Johntay Cook II into the fold, a five-star recruit and the No. 3 wide receiver in the 2023 class.
XAVIER WORTHY IS VERY FAST.
(Via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/b7sIbCv5go
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 9, 2021
3. Washington Huskies
Washington has the best wide receiver duo in college football outside of Ohio State.
Rome Odunze is my No. 3 wide receiver in the country and his 605 yards against single-coverage in 2022 was second only to Marvin Harrison Jr. among returning Power Five receivers. Jalen McMillan came in at sixth on my list and had 54 combined receiving first downs and touchdowns last season, second again only to Harrison. The Huskies return the remainder of their five leading receivers from a year ago in wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk, Giles Jackson and tight end Jack Westover. They also bring in Germie Bernard from Michigan State, who was a four-star recruit in the 2022 cycle.
FILTHY work by Rome Odunze 🤮 pic.twitter.com/7cmRoYdgAV
— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) November 27, 2022
4. Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia’s receiving corps starts with Brock Bowers, who could go down as one of the greatest tight ends in college football history. He’s been the most valuable tight end in the country during each of his first two seasons, according to PFF’s wins above-average metric. His 1,001 yards after the catch during that span are 328 more than the next-closest FBS tight end, Michael Mayer.
The Bulldogs also return their top two wide receivers from 2022, Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. McConkey’s 42 combined receiving first downs and touchdowns last season ranked second among SEC wide receivers. Dominic Lovett transferred in from Missouri and earned the fourth-best grade from a Power Five wide receiver last year (83.7). Rara Thomas also transferred to Georgia and led Mississippi State in 2022 with 626 receiving yards.
Brock Bowers has a very good chance at surpassing Kyle Pitts as a prospect.
Was the best tight end in the country as a true freshman and looks the same as a sophomore.
In a generational TE room at Georgia, he’s clearly the generational talent.pic.twitter.com/Fq1pnLIDrw
— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) September 18, 2022
5. Florida State Seminoles
No receiving corps in the country benefited from the transfer portal more than Florida State’s this offseason. The Seminoles first brought in Jaheim Bell from South Carolina, who’s a top-five tight end in the country. Since 2021, his 2.60 yards per route run trails only Brock Bowers among Power Five tight ends with at least 275 receiving snaps. Then, Keon Coleman transferred in from Michigan State after placing sixth among Big Ten receivers in yards (798) and fifth in touchdowns (seven) in 2022.
This is in addition to Johnny Wilson, who’s a top-10 wide receiver in college football. He’s a massive receiver at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds who led all Power Five wideouts last year with 3.36 yards per route run. Winston Wright Jr. missed all of last season due to injuries from a car accident, but he tied for second among Big 12 receivers in 2021 with 13 forced missed tackles on receptions while at West Virginia. While not a wide receiver or tight end, Lawrance Toafili paced all ACC running backs last year with 268 receiving yards.
Florida State also brings in Hykeem Williams, who was the No. 4 wide receiver recruit in the 2023 class.
Johnny Wilson is a star pic.twitter.com/lGXk3VXAvS
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 30, 2022
6. USC Trojans
For the second straight year, Caleb Williams’ top target will be an incoming transfer. Dorian Singer will attempt to fill in the shoes left behind by Jordan Addison and is a top-10 wide receiver in the country. The former walk-on at Arizona tallied 29 catches that went for 15-plus yards last year, second to only Marvin Harrison Jr. among Power Five wide receivers.
After him, the Trojans also return Tahj Washington, who was seventh among Pac-12 receivers a year ago with a 77.0 receiving grade. Mario Williams experienced some drop issues this past season but didn’t drop any of his 37 targets as a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2021, the fourth-most among Power Five receivers. Brenden Rice had 611 receiving yards last year and is the son of the legendary Jerry Rice.
USC also brings in the top wide receiver recruit and the top tight end recruit from the 2023 class in five-stars Zachariah Branch and Duce Robinson, the former being the No. 4 overall recruit. Wide receiver Makai Lemon was a top-40 recruit as well.
DORIAN SINGER 😱
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/dDjucC7fCU#Pac12FB | @ArizonaFBall pic.twitter.com/a7d3Kx5jfr— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 29, 2022
7. Oregon Ducks
Troy Franklin could be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft with another big season. He was 10th among Power Five receivers last year with a 139.2 passer rating when targeted. Tez Johnson transferred in from Troy and was second among FBS receivers in grade (89.9) and yards per route run (3.52) last season. He’s also quarterback Bo Nix’s adopted brother, so there won’t be any chemistry issues between the two.
Oregon also brings back Kris Hutson, who led the Ducks with 300 yards after the catch in 2022. Terrance Ferguson is also back after placing fourth among Pac-12 tight ends in yards after the catch (221) a year ago. Traeshon Holden transferred in from Alabama and had 331 receiving yards last season.
To top it all off, Jurrion Dickey was a five-star recruit and the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2023 cycle.
#DraftBreakdown pic.twitter.com/jLRTRakxCl
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) April 17, 2023
8. LSU Tigers
The leader of LSU’s receiving corps is Malik Nabers, who’s a top-five wide receiver in college football and is a monster after the catch. His 21 forced missed tackles on receptions in 2022 was fifth among Power Five receivers.
Mason Taylor also returns at tight end after a stellar true freshman season. Last year, his 217 yards after the catch were only behind Brock Bowers among SEC tight ends. The Tigers also bring back Brian Thomas Jr. and Kyren Lacy, who were the No. 4 and No. 5 receivers a year ago. Aaron Anderson also transferred in from Alabama and was the No. 4 wide receiver recruit in the 2022 class.
As for the 2023 cycle, LSU brings in a couple of top-100 recruits in wide receivers Jalen Brown and Shelton Sampson Jr.
Malik Nabers is unstoppable 💨
LSU is up 49-0 in the third 👀 pic.twitter.com/vPxKmuSzex
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 2, 2023
9. Texas A&M Aggies
Evan Stewart immediately showed why he was a top-10 overall recruit, leading the Aggies with 643 receiving yards as a true freshman. The sky’s the limit for him in Year 2.
Moose Muhammad III was right behind him and tied for seventh among SEC receivers last year with 20 catches of 15-plus yards. Ainias Smith had his season cut short due to a broken fibula but led the Aggies in receiving during both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Texas A&M also returns Donovan Green, who was seventh among SEC tight ends with 233 receiving yards as just a true freshman in 2022.
HOW DOES EVAN STEWART COME DOWN WITH THIS?! pic.twitter.com/TR8zzjIcRg
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 9, 2022
10. Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama brings back both of its top two receivers from 2022, Jermaine Burton and Ja’Corey Brooks. They combined for 15 touchdowns last season, tied for the most among all wide receiver duos in the SEC.
Kobe Prentice and Isaiah Bond were the No. 3 and No. 5 receivers for the Crimson Tide last year, respectively, and both return. CJ Dippre transferred in from Maryland and forced 10 missed tackles after the catch in 2022, which was tied for seventh among Power Five tight ends.
Alabama also brings in the No. 1 overall JUCO recruit in wide receiver Malik Benson and a top-40 overall recruit from the 2023 high school class in wide receiver Jalen Hale.
Bryce Young.
Ja’Corey Brooks.
Gamers.pic.twitter.com/dMrRwmSlrx
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 28, 2021
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