Top 10 College Football Wide Receivers: Ohio State Buckeyes first round streak should continue in 2026 NFL Draft
The 2025 college football season is already fast approaching. Yes, it's still months away, but it's never too early to break down the best returning wide receivers for this upcoming year.While rising sophomores like Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Ryan Williams (Alabama), and Cam Coleman (Auburn) are certainly among the best wide receivers in the country […]
The 2025 college football season is already fast approaching. Yes, it's still months away, but it's never too early to break down the best returning wide receivers for this upcoming year.
While rising sophomores like Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Ryan Williams (Alabama), and Cam Coleman (Auburn) are certainly among the best wide receivers in the country after impressive first seasons, today we'll just be diving into the top wide receivers eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Some are on new teams. Others need a big break out season to go along with their physical traits. All of them are extremely talented, but who are the best? Let's dive in.
2026 NFL Draft Top 10 Wide Receivers
1. Carnell Tate, Ohio State
Many college football fans might not realize this given all the hype surrounding Jeremiah Smith, but Carnell Tate has been an absolute star since he stepped on to campus at Ohio State back in the spring of 2023. Tate was immediately too good to keep off of the field as he earned targets playing alongside Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and a fourth year veteran wide receiver Julian Fleming.
This past season his breakout year was overshadowed by the best true freshman receiver in the history of college football (Jeremiah Smith), but that doesn't change the fact that Tate is also likely a first round pick himself. Tate should receive the bulk of Emeka Egbuka's departed targets this year, giving Ohio State the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the entire country. Smith will still hog all of the national attention since he's on greatest-of-all-time trajectory, but Tate is an explosive 6'3", 200-pound weapon of a wide receiver who always forces himself open.
2. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
When Jordyn Tyson is healthy he looks like a potential first round wide receiver talent. He broke out as a true freshman with Colorado back in 2022 as the team's lead receiver in his first college season. However, he then missed all of 2023, derailing what could have been a truly special college production arc.
Last season he broke out again carrying the entire receiving offense by himself for Arizona State with over 1100 yards and 10 touchdowns in less than 12 full games of action. He finished the year injured again, missing the College Football Playoff, but he should be firmly in the round one mix with another healthy season this fall.
3. Denzel Boston, Washington
In an era where players often abandon their teams for greener grass, Denzel Boston stuck around with Washington and was rewarded last season as he broke out in a big way alongside sixth-year wide receiver teammate Giles Jackson. Denzel Boston put up over 800 yards and nine touchdowns last year as a redshirt sophomore. He'll now be given the opportunity to lead the offense as the team's featured WR1 with a young phenom at quarterback (Demond Williams) to toss him the rock. Don't be surprised if Denzel Boston leads all power conference receivers in both yards and touchdowns this fall.
4. Evan Stewart, Oregon
Evan Stewart has already put together three strong seasons–two at Texas A&M, one at Oregon. Now he'll have a chance to put together his best year yet as the undisputed WR1 target for the Ducks this season. Expect 1000+ yards from this speedster who can win from anywhere in a variety of ways. He needs to add a bit more play strength and layers to his releases to be a good pro, but he should dominate this season as the one proven trustworthy veteran target for new quarterback Dante Moore to lean on in 2025.
5. Antonio Williams, Clemson
Antonio Williams was robbed of a true sophomore breakout season in 2023 due to injury (only playing in five games), but he made up for it last fall with over 900 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024. He'll now be the star WR1 again for Clemson in quarterback Cade Klubnik's final season. He should become a household name and a bonafide superstar down the stretch as the Tigers push into the College Football Playoff.
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6. Eric Singleton Jr., Auburn
Eric Singleton did about all he could at a program like Georgia Tech, starring as the team's clearly most dynamic weapon on offense for both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He's already getting phenomenal reviews with Auburn as a potential leader and top target for the team to pair with star sophomore Cam Coleman. Singleton has been hyper-efficient, posting 2.3 yards per route run through two seasons. He could be the most important piece on offense at Auburn and an early round selection next spring.
7. Makai Lemon, USC
Makai Lemon went from complete afterthought in the 2023 offense to the lead receiving weapon in 2024. He led USC in targets, reception, yards, yards per reception, and averaged more than seven yards after the catch (99th percentile among FBS WRs). Now that Zachariah Branch (Georgia), Kyron Hudson (Penn State), and Duce Robinson (Florida State) have all departed for other schools Lemon could rise near the most productive wide receivers in the nation. Lemon projects to be a slot wide receiver at the next level, but that's not a bad thing for high upside production anymore these days.
8. Eugene Wilson III, Florida
Prior to going down injury last season Eugene "Tre" Wilson garnered 24 targets in his first three games as just a true sophomore. He was on pace for a spectacular year and should certainly lead the Gators in all forms of production this season if he stays healthy. Both Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike are off to the NFL so Florida will need some proven playmakers to step up in a huge way this fall. Wilson is an elite YAC-generating machine who can line up and win from any position that NFL teams will love.
9. Nyck Harbor, South Carolina
Nyck Harbor finding himself on any top wide receivers list is pretty pure projection. He's a 6'5", 235-pound freak of an athlete with near Olympic-level speed who could have played edge defender or tight end, but opted to play wide receiver instead. Through his first season and a half at the position with South Carolina he was extremely raw as a route runner and lacked production.
However, in South Carolina'a final five games last year Harbor accounted for over 25% of the Gamecocks receiving yards. He also posted a 33.5% weighted dominator rating (percentage of production accounting for touchdowns) and nearly 1.8 yards per team pass attempt. Harbor was trending up late last season. If he can take one more huge step forward then this ranking might actually be way too low.
10. Ja'Kobi Lane, USC
At 6'4", 200 pounds with hands like vacuums Ja'Kobi Lane is a coach and quarterback's best friend. He's big enough to box out and win contested catches, but smooth enough to force himself open most of the time via route running. Lane might not have the best athletic profile with speed or burst, but he hauled in 12 touchdowns last year anyway. Lane should lead USC in touchdowns yet again as a trustworthy chain-mover and red zone weapon. This archetype quite often gets selected in round two and three of the NFL Draft.
WR Honorable Mentions
Barion Brown, LSU
Deion Burks, Oklahoma
Zachariah Branch, Georgia
Aaron Anderson, LSU
KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
Kevin Coleman, Missouri
Nic Anderson, LSU
Germie Bernard, Alabama
Elijah Sarratt, Indiana
Bryce Lance, North Dakota State
Despite the 2026 NFL Draft being perceived as a rather shallow wide receiver class there's a huge tier of talents that just need one more breakout season to fly up big boards.
Barion Brown is tied for the SEC record in return touchdowns. Deion Burks, Zachariah Branch, and Aaron Anderson all look like explosive slot receiver weapons. KC Concepcion and Nic Anderson could both compete to be the WR1 on their new teams. Kevin Coleman is trying to be the first wide receiver drafted to star for four different teams (Jackson State, Louisville, Mississippi State, and Missouri). Then Germie Bernard, Elijah Sarratt, and Bryce Lance all return as surprisingly productive weapons on offenses that should shove a high percentage of targets their way again.
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We'll be back with more College Football and NFL Draft coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to see why Carnell Tate should be considered such a dynamic playmaker and the heir to the Ohio State Buckeyes first round wide receiver throne just check out some of his best plays in his highlights below.
