RADIO
Mike Marteny takes a look at the 10 best wide receivers based on fantasy potential after the first window of the 2024 college football transfer portal closed.
A staggering 258 wide receivers have already entered the transfer portal during the first window. This is usually the window of most activity. Yes, this is the first year of official transfer windows, but over 80% of all transfers left in December and January since the portal free-for-all opened in 2020. Most players who are on the move will be in the first two months of the portal opening.
Wide receiver impacts are a little harder to gauge than other positions. How a receiver plays with a new quarterback in practices goes a long way toward determining who will see more targets from said quarterback. The top pick is the only easy one on this list, but we still have a lot of other intriguing options in new places this fall. The fact that Beaux Collins didn't go to LSU doesn't sit well with me. That feels like serendipity. Anything else is just messing with the universe.
This window officially closed on January 19, but it took a few days for all of the paperwork to clear and I waited a few days for the dust to settle. Honestly, the portal is still going. Players just can't "sign" with a new team officially until the window opens again. Let's take a look at which wide receivers that have already transferred will have the biggest impact on college football in 2024.
WR Transfer Impacts Last Season
I whiffed on a couple of transfer receivers last year, including Dont'e Thornton, whom I had at the top of the list. I had Keon Coleman at second and he was really good for Florida State. J. Michael Sturdivant was lost in a below-average UCLA passing game. JoJo Earle was a non-factor at TCU. Adonai Mitchell was really good for Texas. C.J. Williams was lost in a poor Wisconsin passing game. Travis Hunter was likely the best transfer receiver and he missed a month of the season.
Zakhari Franklin was injured for the first six weeks and never really cracked the Ole Miss rotation. It was Louisiana Tech transfer Tre Harris that made an impact for the Rebels. Dante Cephas was solid at Penn State, but Drew Allar definitely had his struggles. Ryan O'Keefe didn't do anything for Boston College.
We can infer from last season that about half of these picks will have a serious impact. I missed on a couple of WR groups that had multiple incoming transfers. Texas, Texas Tech, Indiana, Marshall, Colorado, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Kentucky all have multiple incoming top-25 transfer receivers. Keep that in mind when perusing these rankings.
10. Elijah Sarratt, Indiana (from James Madison)
Despite the loss of star WR Cam Camper, @IndianaFootball has quietly assembled one of the country’s best receiver rooms
Elijah Sarratt, Miles Cross, Myles Price, Ke’Shawn Williams, Donavan McCulley, & EJ Williams all offer experience and athleticism for the Hoosiers #iufb 📈 pic.twitter.com/Q62Ybn4xJM
— The Floor Slap (@TheFloorSlap) January 5, 2024
It's going to be crowded in the Indiana receiver room this year. Cam Camper transferred out, but Miles Cross of Ohio, Myles Price of Texas Tech, and Sarratt are all coming in. Sarratt followed his coach at James Madison, Curt Cignetti, to Bloomington after the dismissal of Tom Allen. That should give Sarratt the inside track for the alpha receiver on this team since he is familiar with the offense.
Sarratt led James Madison with 82 receptions and 1,191 yards last season. He also scored eight touchdowns. Add in Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke at quarterback, and this already has the look of a high-powered Cignetti offense. How will that do against Big Ten (18) defenses though?
9. Antwane Wells Jr., Mississippi (from South Carolina)
Antwane has had an illustrious college career thus far, starting at James Madison, where he accumulated 116 receptions, 1,853 yards, and 21 touchdowns in two seasons. After showing out for the Dukes, Wells transferred to South Carolina in 2022, where he saw more of the same…
— DFF ⚙️ (@DFF_Dynasty) December 29, 2023
The only reason that I have Wells this low is because of the nature of his injury (broken foot) and Ole Miss still has a loaded receiver room with Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, and Deion Smith. A strong spring session could move him up my list because when it comes to pure talent, Wells is in the top two or three receivers of this transfer class.
8. Jabre Barber, Texas A&M (from Troy)
WR Jabre Barber Has Announced His Commitment To Texas A&M University
Barber Has 75 Rec, 999 Yds, & 5 TDs For Troy This Season#TAMU #Aggies #GoCFB #CollegeFootball @BarberJabre pic.twitter.com/26I0IAD4Pr
— CFB Nation 🏈 (@TheCFBNation) January 7, 2024
Barber finished just one yard short of 1,000 last year for the Trojans. He has already listed that as one of his goals for 2024. That should be attainable on this team. Moose Muhammad III is the only notable holdover at receiver for the Aggies. Isaiah Williams should man another starting spot with Barber in the slot. That might be the best place for him and his size (5-foot-10, 174 pounds) in the rough-and-tumble SEC.
7. Julian Fleming, Penn State (from Ohio State)
SIGNED. ✍️
PA's own is returning home. WR Julian Fleming is officially a Nittany Lion.#WeAre | @Julian_040 pic.twitter.com/Dekz8XApcM
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) January 12, 2024
Fleming goes from a packed WR room at Ohio State to play Batman with Keandre Lambert-Smith as Robin (or vice-versa) at Penn State. If I trusted Drew Allar, I would have Fleming higher on this list. Lambert-Smith's 2023 season isn't an indicator of his true talent. I don't know whether it's a quarterback thing or a scheme thing, but Penn State's offense should have been better last year.
The reason why I say it might be the scheme is that there is a really long line of failed Penn State quarterbacks with larger-than-life recruiting ranks (Christian Hackenberg, Trace McSorley, Sean Clifford, Will Levis, and now Allar) who never led this team to the next level. Those are just the ones under James Franklin. Levis became a first-round draft pick after he transferred out.
I do believe in Fleming and I believe that he's in a really good situation on paper. Will Penn State's passing game potential ever play out on a football field? If so, I might be underestimating Fleming.
6. LV Bunkley-Shelton, Georgia Southern (from Oklahoma)
GEORGIA SOUTHERN LETS ROCK BABY. YA BOII COMMITTED 🦅💙 #HailSouthern #GATA pic.twitter.com/kCXy4mLQLb
— LV Bunkley-Shelton♕ (@_lvbunkley) January 5, 2024
Who? If you've never heard of LV, I can overlook it...this time. After all, you may be new to my articles. Bunkley-Shelton first popped on the radar as a redshirt freshman at Arizona State when Herm Edwards was still the coach. Herm got canned, so LV hit the road to Norman. I thought he was a great fit for the Sooners, but he never cracked the rotation and spent most of his time returning kicks.
So why is he on this list and why is he so high? This is about DFS rankings and stats for us fantasy junkies. Tulsa transfer Davis Brin led all transfer quarterbacks in passing yards with Georgia Southern last season (3,781) and leading receiver Khaleb Hood graduated. Derwin Burgess Jr. will still get plenty of work on the outside, but Bunkley-Shelton is a burner. He's a big play waiting to happen.
5. Josh Kelly, Texas Tech (from Washington State)
Five touchdowns for Cam Ward, three to Josh Kelly. Washington State is unconscious. pic.twitter.com/4vujF6M4E9
— karan (@905Kar) September 24, 2023
This just highlights what Kelly can do. He has great hands. Yes, that was a really good throw from Cameron Ward, but Kelly makes magic happen. He caught 61 passes for 1,223 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He goes to another pass-happy team in Texas Tech, whose WR cupboards are a little bare with the transfers of Loic Fouonji, Jerand Bradley, Myles Price, and Nehemiah Martinez.
The Red Raiders still have Drae McCray along with QB Behren Morton returning, so Kelly could step in as the top receiver right away. I like McCray's skill set as well, but Kelly is a perfect fit on this team. That's why you'll find him a bit higher on my list than others.
4. Isaiah Bond, Texas (from Alabama)
https://t.co/pVUFd5nN76 pic.twitter.com/FuOYU3tACk
— Seth Mitchell (@Seth_Mitchell23) January 26, 2024
Bond became forever cemented in Iron Bowl lore with this catch, but times are changing and so is Bond. Everything is bigger in Texas, including NIL money. Nick Saban leaving probably had something to do with this but let's not kid ourselves. Texas is paying their backup quarterback a seven-figure NIL deal. How much is a freshman that caught 48 passes for 668 yards worth?
Just kidding. I don't care. If someone waved that kind of money at me when I was 19 freaking years old, I would take it as well. There are debilitating injuries regularly in football. No one takes care of you if you suffer one of those, especially at the collegiate level. You won't see me wishing ill on transfers leaving for NIL money. I get it.
Texas loses Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ja'Tavion Sanders, and Jordan Whittington, but don't feel bad for them. They've already reloaded with Bond, Houston's Matthew Golden, and Oregon State's Silas Bolden. Bond is likely the best of the three, but they could all have good seasons.
3. Caullin Lacy, Louisville (from South Alabama)
BREAKING: South Alabama WR Caullin Lacy is transferring to Louisville!
-Top-5 receiver in the portal
-Top-30 transfer overall (On3)
-91 catches, 1,316 yds, 7 TDs in 2023— Dalton Pence (@dpence_) December 17, 2023
South Alabama's offense has been fun to watch first under Desmond Trotter, then under Carter Bradley. Lacy was there for all of it. He ends his South Alabama career with 208 receptions for 2,518 yards and 13 touchdowns. Most of that production came in the last two years.
You'll find some that say Lacy might be the best receiver in the portal. That might be true, but Alabama's Ja'Corey Brooks also heads to Louisville. Coming in to run the offense is former Texas Tech and Oregon QB Tyler Shough. Shough suffered season-ending injuries in each of the last two seasons for the Red Raiders, but he was a force when healthy. This Louisville offense is going to look much different (in a good way) this year with a new QB, new RB, and a couple of new receivers. I'm buying into all of them.
2. Deion Burks, Oklahoma (from Purdue)
Here’s a look at Deion Burks, OU’s newest add from the portal, scoring from 84 yards out this year. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/G3CBnQmtrD
— The REF (@KREFsports) December 12, 2023
Hudson Card struggled at Purdue last year and it took a toll on the entire offense. There were many reasons for the struggles, but it really stunted the growth of Burks. Purdue's offensive line was a mess, and we know how that goes. Burks had a modest season with 47 receptions for 629 yards and seven touchdowns.
Oklahoma's receiver room is still loaded, but Burks has the potential to be better than all of the incumbents. Nic Anderson will probably be the focal point, but Burks, Andrel Anthony, and Brenen Thompson give Oklahoma the fastest receiving corps in the country. I hope Jackson Arnold gets that deep arm warmed up. He's going to need it.
1. Evan Stewart, Oregon (from Texas A&M)
A few Evan Stewart detractors have claimed his stats are misleading for having missed games against the toughest defenses.
The opposite is the case: the FBS defenses he faced averaged 29 ranks higher in F+ adv stats than those he missed. He played 8 top-40 defenses and missed 1. pic.twitter.com/jxJywaICRO
— hythloday almond (@hythloday1) February 11, 2024
There seems to be a lot of disconnect amongst fans on whether Evan Stewart is that dude. Trust me, he is. When Stewart was healthy, he was superb even with below-average quarterback play. Dillon Gabriel is a perfect fit in the Oregon offense and so is Stewart. He will pick up right where Troy Franklin left off. The Oregon offense might be more explosive this year than last year.
Honorable Mentions: Kelly Akharaiyi, Mississippi State (from UTEP); LaJohntay Wester, Colorado (from Florida Atlantic); Kam Brown, Purdue (from UCLA); Dante Cephas, Kansas State (from Penn State); Gage Larvadain, South Carolina (from Miami-OH); Frank Ladson Jr., Massachusetts (from Miami-FL); Cam Camper, Boise State (from Indiana)
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
