Position pecking order No. 2: Receivers
It's time for another rankings series at AuburnSports.com, this time with the goal of determining the pecking order of 11 Auburn position groups.
We know who Auburn's most talented and most valuable players for this coming season are. But just how much a difference do they make when it comes to their position room as a whole? Are they one of a number of standout performers at their position, or are they the outlier?
Likewise, Tiger fans are well aware of what the most inexperienced or unproven spots on the field are.
Our staff ranked the 11 position groups on the roster based on a number of criteria. The staffer who voted a particular position the highest will have to defend his reasoning.
NO. 2 (of 11): WIDE RECEIVERS
VOTES: Jay G. (5), BMatt (2), J-Lee (2), Nate (2)
Auburn's ceiling as a team always hinges on its offense, and this coming season, that side of the ball's most experienced group is the receivers.
Bo Nix is expected to grow, but he'll be hindered if an offensive line replacing four of five starters struggles. If the O-line struggles, it may be tough for Auburn to find success in the ground game, even with its five-deep tailback rotation. So Gus Malzahn will need his wideouts to be reliable while the rest of the offense may work out its kinks — and there's no reason to believe the position group can't succeed early and often.
From last season's crop of wideouts, the Tigers lose Sal Cannella, Jay Jay Wilson and Will Hastings, who combined for 43 receptions.
Among the returning faces, Auburn brings back 79.4% of its total receiving production and 81% of its receiving touchdowns.
Chief among both categories is Seth Williams, a 2021 high-round NFL draft hopeful who has developed into one of the SEC's top offensive threats.
The rising junior had 59 grabs for 830 yards and eight scores last season, averaging more than 14 yards a catch. Williams has diversified his skill set since cracking the starting rotation as a true freshman in 2018, and was a reliable target for Nix last year on a variety of routes across the field. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-3 Williams posted the highest contested-catch grade in college football last season — even better than that of Ja'Marr Chase, LSU's star receiver who took home the Biletnikoff Award last year.
Williams has improved year over year, and with another year of development he'll be eyeing a first team All-SEC nod while looking to play his way into the 2021 first round. There shouldn't be a shortage of motivation for arguably Auburn's most talented player.
Auburn gets its second- and third-most productive receivers back, as well. Junior Anthony Schwartz (440 yards through the air last season) is out to prove he's more than just a straight-line speedster, while Eli Stove (321 yards) is entering his senior campaign hoping to be remembered as one of the better all-around weapons of Malzahn's recent offenses.
Junior Shedrick Jackson will get early looks in the main rotation after he earned plenty of playing time last year as a blocking specialist — though Bo Jackson's nephew did catch two passes and was targeted by Nix five times in the last two games.
Depth, though unproven, isn't in short supply for the Tigers' receivers, either. Over the past two signing classes, Auburn has brought in a sizable crop of blue-chip pass catchers in Ja'Varrius Johnson, Elijah Canion, Ze'Vian Capers, Kobe Hudson and J.J. Evans.
Senior walk-on James Owens Moss has appeared in a handful of games primarily as a blocker, and Caylin Newton, younger brother of Cam Newton, is listed as a receiver on the roster after transferring from Howard, where he starred as a quarterback.
WHY NO. 2? (Nate): The experience of Auburn's receivers should allow Malzahn to pivot his focus in 2020 toward the handful of question marks in his offense.
I expect Williams to be Auburn's third 1,000-yard receiver in program history. He's only gotten better since arriving as a 4-star in 2018, and the chemistry between he and Nix in the passing game was plenty palpable by the end of last year.
While the newcomers are flashy and exciting, it may take a year or two for Hudson, Evans, Capers and company to take over the receiving corps. I think Schwartz with his speed, Stove with his leadership and Jackson with his utility will get the benefit of the doubt to be the primary group for Nix.
But it starts and ends with Williams, who's shown he's more than a red-zone threat, pulling down deep, back-shoulder throws with consistency while still being a first-down machine over the middle. He has the athleticism, body control and hands to be one of, if not the best receiver in the conference next season while leading a crop of wideouts that should be an effective complement to Nix's continued development.
No. 10: Tight ends and H-backs
No. 5: Cornerbacks and nickels
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