{"id":260021,"date":"2025-08-04T02:34:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/260021\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T02:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:34:13","slug":"phil-steele-ranks-top-25-wide-receiver-units-ahead-of-2025-college-football-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/260021\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Steele ranks Top 25 Wide Receiver units ahead of 2025 college football season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran college football writer Phil Steele ranked his top 25<\/a> wide receiver units ahead of the 2025 college football season. We\u2019ve seen a recent resurgence of the running back, but WRs are still the flashy playmakers these days.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s just one unit on a football team, albeit an important one. When you watch college football offenses operate this year, keep an eye on the wide receivers.<\/p>\n

Without further ado, let\u2019s dive into Steele\u2019s top 25 wide receiver corps around the country. We start with the top group in the country!<\/p>\n

Ohio State boasts the best wide receiver unit in the country per Steele. It seems like that is the case every season with the amount of NFL talent coming through Columbus.<\/p>\n

This year, sophomore Jeremiah Smith<\/a> can lay claim to best wide receiver in the country and he\u2019ll be aided by Carnell Tate<\/a> on the opposite side. Expect guys like Brandon Innis<\/a> to step up as the third option for the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n

\"NFLAntonio Williams. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Clemson has the second best wide receiver unit in the country, as Steele writes. Antonio Williams<\/a>, Bryant Wesco Jr<\/a>. and TJ Moore<\/a> are a solid trio of pass catchers.<\/p>\n

Cade Klubnik<\/a> should have an easy time throwing the football with those types of weapons. Williams had 11 touchdowns by himself last season.<\/p>\n

Aaron Anderson<\/a> returns to this wide receiver unit after 61 catches, 884 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers last season. LSU grabbed two other transfers ahead of the 2025 campaign to bolster their corps.<\/p>\n

Barion Brown<\/a> and Nic Anderson<\/a> come on in to help out QB Garrett Nussmeier<\/a>. Nic Anderson missed basically all of last season with Oklahoma, but had 10 touchdowns in 2023.<\/p>\n

Alabama has a solid group of wide receivers going into the 2025 season. It\u2019s highlighted by sophomore Ryan Williams<\/a>, who like Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State, starred and set the world on fire as a freshman.<\/p>\n

Germie Bernard<\/a> is a solid No. 2 for the Crimson Tide as well. Transfer Isaiah Horton<\/a> should make an instant impact as well.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Wingo (Will Gallagher\/Inside Texas)<\/p>\n

Arch Manning<\/a> is the de facto name when you talk about the Texas offense. But as far as their wide receiver unit is concerned, Ryan Wingo<\/a> leads the group.<\/p>\n

Wingo, as a freshman last season, caught 29 passes for 472 yards and two touchdowns, but will have a greater role in 2025. Emmett Mosley V<\/a> transferred in and DeAndre Moore Jr.<\/a> should contribute greatly as well.<\/p>\n

Auburn\u2019s wide receiver unit got a boost with the addition of transfer Eric Singleton Jr.<\/a> While at Georgia Tech for two years, he totaled 104 catches for 1,468 yards, nine touchdowns and 14.1 yards per catch.<\/p>\n

As far as the rest of the corps, Cam Coleman<\/a> and Malcolm Simmons<\/a> should be expected to aid the cause. Horatio Fields<\/a> is an intriguing senior transfer ahead of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

Caleb Douglas<\/a> and Coy Eakin<\/a> highlight familiar names returning for Texas Tech\u2019s top 10 wide receiver unit. Not only that, Reggie Virgil<\/a> transferred in and should be an X-factor.<\/p>\n

If you want to include tight ends to this group, Louisiana transfer Terrance Carter<\/a> is a bit under the radar this year. Watch out for him this fall.<\/p>\n

\"ZachariahJoe Nicholson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Georgia got a boost in the wide receiver department with USC transfer Zachariah Branch<\/a> coming to town. Former Texas A&M pass catcher Noah Thomas<\/a> also transferred to Athens and Steele put this group into the top 10.<\/p>\n

Their tight ends will certainly draw the attention of the defense as well. Oscar Delp<\/a> is one of the best in the country.<\/p>\n

If you thought Indiana got a lot of hype last season as the Hoosiers made their way to the College Football Playoff, there\u2019s bound to be more of that this year. Steele has their wide receiver unit within his top 10.<\/p>\n

Elijah Sarratt<\/a> might be under the radar compared to others around the country. He had 957 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Omar Cooper<\/a> comes into this season off a year with seven scores as well.<\/p>\n

Steele noted Evan Stewart <\/a>in this group, and while he\u2019s arguably the top wide receiver for Oregon, he\u2019s out with injury. He could potentially be out for the entire season with a patella injury that could take anywhere from three to 12 months to recover from, following surgery.<\/p>\n

But, guys like Gary Bryant Jr.<\/a> should be able to step up, as well as freshman Dakorien Moore<\/a>. They\u2019ll have to in order to help new QB Dante Moore<\/a> excel.<\/p>\n

Phil Steele ranks Top 25 Wide Receiver units for 2025<\/p>\n

11. Penn State<\/a>
12. Louisville<\/a>
13. USC<\/a>
14. Notre Dame<\/a>
15. Michigan State<\/a>
16. Ole Miss<\/a>
17. Georgia Tech<\/a>
18. Florida<\/a>
19. TCU<\/a>
20. Arizona State<\/a>
21. Baylor<\/a>
22. Florida State<\/a>
23. Miami<\/a>
24. UTSA<\/a>
25. Washington<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran college football writer Phil Steele ranked his top 25 wide receiver units ahead of the 2025 college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[26732,11867,34416,51149,40556,51150,5979,5784,51151,42416,11869,38684,27736,26734,5794,7,51152,11873,51153,51154,5985,51155,49,48,9392,51156,51157,51158,21713,15528,51159,51160,38827],"class_list":{"0":"post-260021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-aaron-anderson-22-edna-karr","9":"tag-antonio-williams-22-dutch-fork","10":"tag-barion-brown-22-pearl-cohn","11":"tag-brandon-inniss-23-tru-prep-academy","12":"tag-bryant-wesco-24-midlothian","13":"tag-caleb-douglas-22-hightower","14":"tag-cam-coleman-24-central","15":"tag-carnell-tate-23-img-academy","16":"tag-coy-eakin-22-stephenville","17":"tag-dakorien-moore-25-duncanville","18":"tag-deandre-moore-jr-23-st-john-bosco","19":"tag-elijah-sarratt-22-st-frances-academy","20":"tag-emmett-mosley-24-santa-margarita-catholic","21":"tag-eric-singleton-jr-23-alexander","22":"tag-evan-stewart-22-liberty","23":"tag-football","24":"tag-gary-bryant-jr-20-centennial","25":"tag-germie-bernard-22-liberty","26":"tag-horatio-fields-21-new-manchester","27":"tag-isaiah-horton-22-oakland","28":"tag-jeremiah-smith-24-chaminade-madonna-prep","29":"tag-malcolm-simmons-24-benjamin-russell-hs","30":"tag-ncaa","31":"tag-ncaa-football","32":"tag-nic-anderson-22-katy","33":"tag-noah-thomas-22-clear-springs","34":"tag-omar-cooper-22-lawrence-north","35":"tag-oscar-delp-22-west-forsyth","36":"tag-ryan-williams-24-saraland","37":"tag-ryan-wingo-24-st-louis-university","38":"tag-terrance-carter-22-harker-heights","39":"tag-tj-moore-24-tampa-catholic","40":"tag-zachariah-branch-23-bishop-gorman"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}