Connect with us

Published

on

The 2024 NFL draft features a tremendous collection of talented receivers, including Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze, not to mention Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, all of whom could be top-10 picks.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be anyone left to catch the ball in the college game. Our list of the top 10 receivers in college football for the coming season, as determined by a poll of our reporters, includes five players who broke the 1,000-yard threshold in 2023, plus two players who missed significant time due to injury and one who had as big an impact at cornerback as he did as a receiver.

We asked our resident experts to rank their top 10 wide receivers/tight ends entering the 2024 season. Points were assigned based on their votes: 10 points for first place, nine for second place and down to one point for 10th place.

Here are the results.

Previous top 10 lists: Running backs | Quarterbacks

2023 stats: 86 receptions, 1,212 yards, 14.1-yard average, 9 TDs

Points: 92 (five first-place votes)

Burden was a lump of clay in 2022 as a dynamic athlete and a terrifying figure with the ball in his hands. The blue-chip freshman scored rushing, receiving and punt return touchdowns, but wasn’t where he needed to be as an actual receiver. He averaged just 8.3 yards per catch and finished his first year at Missouri with 375 receiving yards.

The light bulb came on for Burden in 2023. He moved to the slot and topped 375 yards by the second quarter of his fourth game. He gained 114 yards or more in five straight games, threw himself into blocking and dirty work late in the year when running back Cody Schrader began to catch fire and still finished the season ranked ninth nationally in receiving yards. He dropped only two passes all season and finished in the top five in the nation in yards after catch (711, third), forced missed tackles (30, fourth) and yards after first contact (300, fifth). He caught a desperate fourth-and-17 pass to set up a game-winning field goal against Florida and the game-clinching touchdown pass in the Tigers’ Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. Schrader received some Heisman votes for his late-season work, but Missouri doesn’t go 11-2 in 2023 without Burden. And now he enters his junior season as maybe the most proven receiver in the country. His potato chips are pretty good too. — Bill Connelly


2023 stats: 90 receptions, 1,402 yards, 15.6-yard average, 10 TDs

Points: 78 (three first-place votes)

After an impressive freshman year in 2022, where he caught 39 passes for 702 yards, McMillan broke out as a sophomore, hauling in 90 passes for 1,402 yards with 10 touchdowns as Arizona won 10 games for just the second time in more than two decades. No returning power conference receiver had more receiving yards than he did last year, catching passes from both Noah Fifita and Jayden de Laura.

The offseason saw a major change in Tucson with head coach Jedd Fisch departing for Washington, which led to some initial speculation that McMillan might move with him to the Big Ten. However, both McMillan and Fifita announced they would stay at Arizona to play for new head coach Brent Brennan, who arrived from San Jose State. It will be hard for McMillan to top his statistical output from a year ago, but the Wildcats will no longer have Jacob Cowing — who caught 90 passes as a senior — which could make them more dependent on McMillan. — Kyle Bonagura


2023 stats: 41 receptions, 515 yards, 12.6-yard average, 4 TDs

Points: 59

Top-three national wide receivers typically don’t have a ton to prove, but Egbuka is looking to deliver more for an Ohio State offense with the highest of expectations. After a breakout season in 2022 — he had 1,151 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 receptions, while adding two rushing touchdowns and 75 yards on punt returns — the Steilacoom, Washington, native seemed poised to make the leap to the NFL in 2024. But last season didn’t go as planned, as Egbuka was slowed by a midseason ankle sprain that sidelined him for three games. He finished with only 41 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdowns, never reaching the 100-yard mark and eclipsing 40 yards just once in Big Ten play.

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s departure puts Egbuka in the spotlight as Ohio State’s No. 1 receiver and a Biletnikoff Award candidate. He had displayed top-end speed and route-running and averaged 15.7 yards per reception in 2022 while contributing to the return game his first two seasons. Egbuka will be instrumental in easing the transition for Kansas State transfer Will Howard and leading a receiver group once again pegged to be among the nation’s best. — Adam Rittenberg


2023 stats: 86 receptions, 1,182 yards, 13.7-yard average, 10 TDs

Points: 41 (one first-place vote)

Johnson racked up 86 catches for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns, playing as Oregon’s No. 2 receiving target last season. Those are hardly No. 2 numbers as only five other receivers in the country — including his 2023 teammate Troy Franklin — posted an 80-1,100-10 line. The only two players from that group returning for 2024 are Johnson and Arizona’s McMillan.

Johnson was a wizard both before and after the catch. He hauled in more than half his contested catches, averaged more than 3 yards per catch after first contact (with 17 missed tackles) and racked up 727 yards after the catch, most among all Power Five receivers last year. Meanwhile, he was as reliable an option as there was in college football, hauling in 78.9% of his targets, third-most among all FBS receivers with at least 100 targets and tops in the Power 5. — David Hale


2023 stats: 54 receptions, 985 yards, 18.2-yard average, 8 TDs

Points: 30

One of the many transfers Ole Miss has cashed in on in recent seasons, Harris returns as one of the top pass-catchers in the country. He started his career at Louisiana Tech and had a breakout season there in 2022 with 10 touchdown catches. He missed one game at Ole Miss last season with an injury but still finished with 54 catches for 985 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and has the athleticism and size to win most one-on-one matchups.

The Rebels will be deep at receiver with slot Jordan Watkins and tight end Caden Prieskorn returning and South Carolina transfer Antwane “Juice” Wells coming in, which will make it difficult for opponents to double-team Harris. Not only will Harris be a target for Jaxson Dart in key third-down situations, but he is one of the more dangerous big-play receivers in college football. He averaged 18.2 yards per catch last season, and his 21 catches of 20 yards or longer rank third nationally among returning FBS players. — Chris Low


2023 stats: 85 receptions, 1,092 yards, 12.8-yard average, 6 TDs

Points: 28

Restrepo had three relatively quiet seasons at Miami before 2023, when he turned in one of the best years by a receiver in school history. The South Florida native set a school record with 85 catches, becoming just the sixth Hurricanes receiver ever to break the 1,000-yard mark in a season (1,092). A first-team All-ACC selection, Restrepo was at his best in a loss to Louisville, when he caught eight passes for 193 yards with a touchdown late in the year.

He had a strong connection with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, but will now be catching passes from former Washington State QB Cam Ward, who briefly announced he would enter the NFL draft before reversing course and transferring to Miami. — Bonagura


2023 stats (at South Alabama): 91 receptions, 1,316 yards, 14.5-yard average, 7 TDs

Points: 27

Find you a slot receiver who can do it all. At South Alabama in 2023, Lacy was first in the nation in receiving yards from screens, shallow and hook routes (606 from 60 catches), first in yards after catch and first in yards after first contact. He was also an A+ deep threat, ranking 18th in receiving yards on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield and averaging 14.5 yards per reception on the season despite all the short routes. He was the No.1 in the Jaguars’ passing attack — he was targeted on 30% of his routes and accounted for 38% of his team’s receiving yards — and still, no one could stop him. He topped 100 yards in eight of his 12 games.

For each of four seasons, Lacy showed massive development, leaping from 11 catches in 2020 to 41 in 2021, 64 in 2022 and 91 in 2023. He was one of the nation’s best return men in 2022 as well. And now he takes the logical next step in his career: seeing what he can do at a Power 5 school. He will serve as the most proven pass-catcher in a drastically remodeled Louisville receiving corps as Jeff Brohm attempts to make his second ACC championship game appearance in two seasons. — Connelly


2023 stats: 45 receptions, 649 yards, 14.4-yard average, 4 TDs

Points: 23

Michigan has lost a lot of star power from its national championship offense, but Loveland, along with running back Donovan Edwards, will enter the spotlight in 2024. Loveland emerged as an elite-level tight end during his first two seasons in college and should be one of the top prospects at his position in the 2025 NFL draft. Michigan doesn’t have many recruits from Idaho, but Loveland made the long journey from Gooding, in the southern portion of the state, and arrived as a three-star recruit in 2022. He broke out late in his freshman season, starting five games, recording 16 receptions for 235 yards, while excelling on special teams.

Loveland took on a bigger role last fall in Michigan’s passing game, finishing third on the team in receptions (45) and second in both receiving yards (649) and receiving touchdowns (4). He had multiple receptions in each of the Wolverines’ final nine games, including three for 64 yards in the national championship win over Washington. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Loveland earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named Michigan’s offensive player of the week five times. As the Wolverines reload at quarterback and wide receiver, Loveland will have even more responsibility on his very capable shoulders this fall. — Rittenberg


2023 stats: 57 receptions, 721 yards, 12.6-yard average, 5 TDs

Points: 21 (one first-place vote)

Hunter’s place here is sort of like if Michael Jordan had ranked as one of the White Sox’s top prospects in 1994. He really has no business being this good at what is, essentially, his part-time gig. While Hunter excelled as one of the elite cover corners in college football last year, his impact on offense was nearly as significant, catching 57 balls for 721 yards and five touchdowns in nine games. To put that in perspective, the last time a Colorado receiver hit all three of those marks was Laviska Shenault back in 2018 — and Hunter did it while also playing defense and missing three games.

How Hunter’s role evolves in 2024 is one of the more intriguing questions of this offseason, and whether he’s up to the rigors of playing both ways over the course of a full season for a second year in a row is anyone’s guess. But what’s unquestioned is Hunter’s rare talent, which makes him dangerous anywhere on the field — and perhaps at receiver most of all. — Hale


2023 stats (at Alabama): 48 receptions, 668 yards, 13.9-yard average, 4 touchdowns

Points: 19

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is hoping Bond can do what Georgia transfer Adonai Mitchell did for the Longhorns’ offense in 2023. Bond had 48 catches for 668 yards with four touchdowns at Alabama last season. Most famously, he hauled in the winning touchdown on fourth-and-31 with 32 seconds left in a 27-24 victory at Auburn, which put the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game.

A former Georgia high school sprint champion in the 100 and 200 meters, Bond has blazing speed and should develop into a reliable deep threat for the Longhorns. — Mark Schlabach

Also receiving votes: Brant Kuithe, Utah (17); Kevin Concepcion, NC State (16); Ricky White, UNLV (14); Juice Wells, Ole Miss (12); Zachariah Branch, USC (11); Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State (11); Tory Horton, Colorado State (10); Evan Stewart, Oregon (10); Elic Ayomanor, Stanford (8), Deion Burks, Oklahoma (6); Kris Mitchell, Notre Dame (6); Oscar Delp, Georgia (5); Moose Muhammad, Texas A&M (5); Benjamin Yurosek, Georgia (1)

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars’ Hintz remains game-time call for Game 4

Published

on

By

Stars' Hintz remains game-time call for Game 4

EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz remains a game-time decision ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday.

The club’s top skater has been sidelined since Game 2 in the series when he took a slash to the left leg from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Hintz took part in warmups before Game 3 on Sunday but exited early and was ruled out. He was back on the ice for Dallas’ optional practice on Monday and told reporters he was “feeling good” and “trying to do everything I can” to get back in for Game 4.

It was early in the third period of Game 2 when Hintz — parked in front of the Oilers’ net — shoved Nurse from behind, and the Oilers’ blueliner responded by swinging his stick at Hintz’s leg. Hintz was down on the ice for several minutes after that before being helped off by Lian Bichsel and Mikael Granlund.

Nurse received a two-minute penalty for the slash on Hintz but no supplementary discipline from the league. The blueliner addressed the incident for the first time Tuesday, explaining it didn’t come with malicious intent.

“I was backing up to net and I got shot in the back. And I think it was just a natural reaction [to respond],” Nurse said. “It’s probably a play that everyone in this room, whether you’re a net-front guy or D man, probably happens a dozen, two dozen times in a year. It’s unfortunate that I must have got [Hintz] in a bad spot. You don’t want to go out there and hurt anyone. But it was just one of those plays that happens so often.”

Having Hintz unavailable hurt the Stars in Game 3, a 6-1 drubbing by the Oilers that put Dallas in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-7 series. Hintz is the Stars’ second-leading scorer in the postseason, with 11 goals and 15 points through 15 games. He was hopeful when taking warmups Sunday that he’d feel good enough to get back in but a quick discussion with the training staff made it clear he wasn’t ready.

Coach Pete DeBoer has since classified Hintz’s status as day-to-day.

“Of course you want to go every night, but sometimes you just can’t,” said Hintz. “I don’t know how close I [was to playing]. But I have played many years [and I] know when it’s good and when it’s not. I should be good to know that [when] it comes to that decision.”

The Oilers will have some lineup changes of their own to sort through in Game 4. Connor Brown is out after he took a hit from Alexander Petrovic in Game 3; he’ll be replaced by the incoming Viktor Arvidsson. Calvin Pickard — injured in Edmonton’s second-round series against Vegas — will return to back up for Stuart Skinner. And Edmonton continues to wait on defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who is getting closer to coming back from a lower-body injury.

Puck drop for Game 4 is 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Continue Reading

Sports

‘That’s wonderful’: Canes finally see ECF skid end

Published

on

By

'That's wonderful': Canes finally see ECF skid end

SUNRISE, Fla. — Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is happy to never get another question about his team’s record-setting NHL playoff losing streak.

“Wonderful. That’s wonderful,” he said after Carolina’s 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night. “The guys in here worked hard tonight and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Hurricanes avoided a sweep by the Panthers, sending the series back to Raleigh, North Carolina, for Game 5 on Wednesday night. In the process, Carolina snapped a 15-game losing streak in the conference finals — the longest losing streak by a team in a playoff round other than the Stanley Cup Final in NHL history.

The Hurricanes’ last win in the Eastern Conference finals was in Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres in 2006, a game that saw current Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour score the winning goal.

“It’s been a story. So, yeah, it’s nice to not have to talk about that [anymore],” Brind’Amour said.

When the streak began in 2009, Carolina captain Jordan Staal was helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to a conference finals sweep of the Hurricanes. He said the win over Florida in Game 4 showed how much pride was in the Canes’ locker room, as they refused to allow the Panthers to end their season.

“There’s a lot of guys that didn’t want to go home,” Staal said. “We know we have a huge hill to climb here. We’ve got a great team on the other side that is going to come back with a better effort. It’s a great challenge.”

Florida coach Paul Maurice, whose team had a chance to advance to a third straight Stanley Cup Final with a victory, gave credit to the Hurricanes for a solid and disruptive game while acknowledging that his team could have gotten to its own game better.

“I haven’t been nearly as down on that hockey team as you fine people have been over the last three games, and I won’t be as down on my team tonight,” he said. “[The Hurricanes] were good. They had good sticks. They had good quickness. You see that happen more often when the possessor of the puck’s feet are not moving.”

Three factors changed the vibe for Carolina in Game 4.

Goalie Frederik Andersen had his second shutout of the postseason after being pulled in Game 2 and benched for Game 3. Andersen was 7-2 with a .937 save percentage and a 1.36 goals-against average in nine playoff games before facing Florida. In two games against the Panthers, he gave up nine goals on 36 shots (.750, 5.54). Andersen had given up just 12 goals in his previous nine postseason games.

In Game 4, he was a great last line of defense, stopping all 20 shots.

After the game, Andersen declined to discuss being benched.

“I don’t really want to talk about my feelings. It’s not about that. It’s about the team and trying to put the best lineup on the ice that they feel like gets the job done. So I’m ready for when I’m called upon and glad to be able to play,” he said.

Andersen played a key role in another factor: the Carolina penalty kill. The Panthers were 4-for-5 on the power play in the first two games of the conference finals. The Hurricanes killed off four power plays in each of the past two games.

“Our goalie was great when he needed to be. The penalty kill was phenomenal,” Brind’Amour said. “We gave ourselves a chance, and that’s all we can ask.”

Perhaps most crucially, the Hurricanes scored the first goal. Carolina is now 6-0 when scoring first and 3-5 when it trails first in these playoffs. In the regular season, the Hurricanes were 30-7-2 when scoring first and 17-23-3 when trailing first.

They scored first and then played the type of close, low-scoring game they excel at. As winger Taylor Hall said before Game 4: “We’re thinking about winning the game 1-0. If it’s close, then we’re in a good spot.”

“It’s been a story. So, yeah, it’s nice to not have to talk about that [anymore].”

Rod Brind’Amour on Carolina snapping 15-game losing streak in conference finals

Forward Logan Stankoven opened the scoring at 10:45 of the second period, giving Carolina its first lead of the series. Rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin made a terrific backhand pass across the neutral zone to spring Stankoven ahead of the Panthers’ defense, and he beat goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

Stankoven said he called for the pass from Nikishin, who was playing in his third postseason game.

“The play happened so fast and it was a great feed by him to make that play off the turnover. It all starts with him,” said Stankoven, who was acquired from the Dallas Stars in the Mikko Rantanen deadline trade.

It remained 1-0 until Sebastian Aho and Staal added empty-net goals in the last 2:11 for the 3-0 win.

Slavin said Game 4 was in the Carolina’s comfort zone.

“A thousand percent. It was 1-0 up until the end there. You can’t get any tighter than that,” he said.

With that, the Hurricanes ended their historic losing streak and turned their attention to making more NHL history. Only four teams in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs have rallied to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-0, although two have done it in the past 15 years (Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and Los Angeles Kings in 2014).

“You watched the way we played tonight. Everyone put their heart on the line,” Slavin said. “We know we’ve got a good group in here. We know we’ve got all the pieces. We just have to bring it every night.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars-Oilers Game 4 preview: Can Dallas punch back to even it up?

Published

on

By

Stars-Oilers Game 4 preview: Can Dallas punch back to even it up?

The good news for the Dallas Stars is that if the Western Conference finals get to a Game 7, they have the NHL’s master of Game 7s behind their bench.

The bad news is that they need to get to Game 7 for that to matter. And after going down 2-1 in the series to the Edmonton Oilers via a 6-1 loss in Game 3, another defeat could make that difficult.

Can they punch back in Game 4 to knot the matchup at 2-2 heading back home to Dallas for Game 5?

Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:

More from Game 3: Recap | Grades

Matchup notes

Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers
Game 4 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Following the Oilers’ win in Game 3, ESPN BET has adjusted the series winner odds to Oilers -375 (previously -140) and Stars +280 (previously +120). The Oilers’ Cup winner odds are now +140, while the Stars’ are +700. Connor McDavid is atop the Conn Smythe odds leaderboard at +175.

The Oilers are now 10-2 in their past 12 games, after losing the first two games of the first round vs. the Los Angeles Kings, and are 20-3 at home in the playoffs since 2017 when leading after two periods.

The Stars lost consecutive games for the first time in the 2025 playoffs, and have one goal total in their past three road games (Games 2 and 5 of the second round against the Winnipeg Jets and Game 3 against Edmonton).

McDavid powered the Oilers to a Game 3 win with his 44th multipoint and sixth multigoal game of his playoff career. McDavid has as many playoff games with multiple points (44) as he does with no points (20) or one point (24).

Teammate Evan Bouchard opened the scoring with his sixth goal this postseason, tying Leon Draisaitl for the team lead. Bouchard is the first defenseman with six goals in consecutive postseasons since Rob Blake in 2001 and 2002. Bouchard also recorded an assist, marking his 24th career multipoint playoff game, which extended his record for defensemen in a four-postseason span.

Stuart Skinner was remarkable in goal once again, stopping 33 of 34 shots to earn his fourth win this postseason. It was his first win of these playoffs that didn’t end in a shutout, as the Stars’ goal with 4:25 left in the second period ended Skinner’s shutout streak at 99 minutes, 33 seconds. With the win, Skinner tied Andy Moog for the third-most playoff wins by a goaltender in Oilers history (23); Bill Ranford is next on the list at 25, and Grant Fuhr is well ahead at No. 1 with 74.

Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen recorded an assist on the goal from Jason Robertson, but has gone without a goal in his past six games. In his previous six games before the drought, he scored nine goals, which remains tied for the NHL lead this postseason.

Jake Oettinger allowed six goals in the loss, tied for the most in a playoff game in his career; the previous occasion was Game 6 of the 2023 Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights.


Scoring leaders

GP: 14 | G: 5 | A: 17

GP: 16 | G: 9 | A: 12

Continue Reading

Trending