Top 25 WR rankings entering Week 3 of college football
Passing games around college football have been on point early in the 2023 season, with 27 different teams averaging at least 300 passing yards per game through the first two weeks of the season.
Such good passing games require a good receiving corps. Today, On3 stops to break down the top 25 receivers in the country through Week 2.
Some of the inclusions on this list are already household names, but others are just beginning to emerge as major threats to keep an eye on out wide every weekend. Let’s take a look below.
1. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
After an exceedingly quiet season opener at Indiana, where he logged just two catches for 18 yards, Marvin Harrison Jr. clicked back into form against Youngstown State. The veteran wideout logged seven catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
That elite big-play type ability from Harrison has already made him one of the top NFL Draft prospects at his position. But it might just be helping new starting quarterback Kyle McCord to come into his own, too.
2. Rome Odunze, Washington
Washington’s passing attack has been top notch for a while now, with Odunze a huge part of that. He’s been remarkably consistent to open the 2023 season, catching seven passes for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in each contest so far.
Moreover, Odunze began to show his versatility off even more in a game against Tulsa over the weekend. He got his first carry of the season out of the backfield, taking it 14 yards for a touchdown, showing the college football world he can contribute in multiple ways.
3. Keon Coleman, Florida State
After leading off the season with an absolutely monster performance in a win over LSU, Coleman had a bit of a quieter follow-up game. He went for three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown against Southern Miss, though those figures still led the team as the Seminoles spread it around.
Coleman has proven he’s an exceptional catcher in traffic, where he’s shown the ability to go up and snag balls while contested. Expect that to continue as the Florida State passing game continues to get more in sync.
4. Xavier Worthy, Texas
It wasn’t a perfect showing for Worthy in the Alabama game, as he let one opportunity for a big play slip by him, but he made up for it later by getting on the end of a 44-yard reception. Worthy finished the game with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
He also logged his first carry of the season out of the backfield. In two weeks, Worthy has 12 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown.
5. Evan Stewart, Texas A&M
Stewart has had two standout performances to start the college football season, topping the 100-yard mark receiving in both outings. While he didn’t find the end zone against Miami, he did tally 11 catches for 142 yards and helped keep the Aggies in the contest.
Through two weeks, Stewart has 19 catches for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging an impressive 13.5 yards per catch despite having defenses draped all over him.
6. Roman Wilson, Michigan
He’s done it on a low volume of catches for Michigan, but Roman Wilson has been a scoring machine so far in 2023. He has five total touchdowns already through the first two games.
Wilson recorded four catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns this week, one week after hauling in three scores against East Carolina. The standout receiver has five touchdowns on just 10 total catches so far.
7. Malik Nabers, LSU
A steady workhorse for LSU, Nabers nabbed his first touchdown of the season on Saturday in a 72-10 win over Grambling. He finished the game with five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
So far through two games this college football season Nabers has logged 11 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. Given that one of those games was against Florida State, that’s a pretty quality early output.
8. Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Another player with five touchdowns through just two games, Harris’ feat is arguably more impressive than Wilson’s because he did it in about a game and a quarter. Harris left the game against Tulane with a brace on his knee and did not return.
In just two games Harris has accounted for eight catches for 188 yards and five touchdowns. Most importantly, he seems to have the strongest rapport with quarterback Jaxson Dart.
9. Xavier Legette, South Carolina
Legette ranks second nationally in yards per game currently, having racked up 296 receiving yards through the first two games. He’s done that on 15 total catches and with one touchdown.
Legette has been an outlet for quarterback Spencer Rattler, who looked more comfortable in a game against Furman than he did in the season opener against North Carolina. Legette is averaging an impressive 19.7 yards per catch right now, one of the top figures in college football.
10. Jalen McMillan, Washington
Like Odunze, McMillan has been very consistent and picked up right where he left off a year ago. For the second straight game McMillan chipped in eight catches, this time for 120 yards and a score.
In two games so far this season, McMillan has scratched out 16 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He’s been a perfect one-two complement for Odunze.
11. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
12. J. Michael Sturdivant, UCLA
13. Jacob Cowing, Arizona
14. Johnny Wilson, Florida State
15. AD Mitchell, Texas
16. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State
17. Erik Brooks, Fresno State
18. Pofele Ashlock, Hawaii
19. Troy Franklin, Oregon
20. Troy Horton, Colorado State
21. Ali Jennings III, Virginia Tech
22. Will Sheppard, Vanderbilt
23. Xavier Weaver, Colorado
24. Jamari Thrash, Louisville
25. Barion Brown, Kentucky
The rest of the top 25 list is rounded out by some big names, not the lest of which is AD Mitchell, the Georgia transfer at Texas who is starting to emerge in a big way. But several others can also make compelling cases for moves up as the college football season wears on, like Vanderbilt’s Will Sheppard, who has six touchdowns in three games so far. Stay tuned next week to see who can muscle their way up the list.