Ranking my top 5 SEC pass-catching groups for 2025 ...Middle East

Sometimes, I like to imagine that I’m an SEC quarterback and I can pick the group of pass catchers that I’d want to work with. It’s an interesting exercise because sometimes, you realize that a team has more depth than you give it credit for. Other times, you realize that you’re probably just letting one player speak for an entire group.

To rank an entire group of pass catchers, depth matters. Star power matters, too. I’d argue having either an elite slot receiver or tight end should be valued, and a running back who can add value in the passing game is significant, too.

In the SEC, there are a handful of teams who enter the 2025 season with those questions answered. Some of this is projecting, but at this point of the offseason, I find myself defaulting more to the proven commodities.

So, these are my top 5 SEC pass-catching groups for 2025:

5. Georgia

It’s an overhauled group in variety of ways. It needed to be. In case you haven’t heard, Georgia led the nation in drops last year. So what did Kirby Smart do? He attacked the portal by landing former preseason All-American Zachariah Branch (USC) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M). Both of those guys should add something that was an obvious weakness in 2024. Branch can make something out of nothing — all but 9 of his catches in 2024 came within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage — while Thomas can be the contested catch guy that the Dawgs lacked in 2025.

UNREAL GRAB BY NOAH THOMAS ? TWO DEFENDERS WAS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP HIM ? pic.twitter.com/EgKQOGx6VU

Colbie Young’s return from suspension should help on the outside as another red-zone target, as well. There’s also still a belief that Oscar Delp can turn into an All-SEC tight end. The catch radius might not be at the level that his predecessor’s was (that’s not a fair bar for any tight end), but Delp started to come into his own in the latter half of 2024. You could say the same about fellow tight end Lawson Luckie, who lined up primarily in the slot and didn’t record a drop on 36 targets.

If those guys can become reliable targets for Gunner Stockton, it can allow Dillon Bell to operate in the hybrid role that saw him thrive in 2023. Mike Bobo’s ability to use him across the formation will be pivotal if UGA’s pass-catchers are going to become a strength. The pieces are certainly in place to make that happen.

4. Ole Miss

If you don’t know the name “Cayden Lee,” you haven’t been paying attention. He should enter 2024 as a preseason All-SEC guy after he took over Ole Miss’s WR1 role in Tre Harris’s absence. In the final 7 games — much of which was without Harris — Lee had 39 catches for 577 yards. Matthew Golden was the only SEC receiver who had more 20-yard catches than Lee (20). He might not profile as an obvious go-to guy because he’s built more like Elijah Moore as a sub-6 foot wide receiver who operates primarily out of the slot, but don’t sleep on him becoming a star with Austin Simmons.

Lane Kiffin, as he’s been known to do, attacked the portal to find weapons around Lee. That included guys like Oklahoma State’s De’Zhaun Stribling, who had 882 receiving yards and 11 contested catches last year, as well as Penn State’s Harrison Wallace III, who was the No. 2 option behind Tyler Warren. If you’re telling yourself that Penn State’s 2024 receivers weren’t talented, remember what KeAndre Lambert-Smith became at Auburn after he was a post-spring transfer. On top of that, Luke Hasz has immense potential as a pass-catching tight end after a promising start to his career at Arkansas.

Lee is the centerpiece, but Ole Miss‘s portal-heavy group of pass-catchers could once again prove to be as good as there is in the conference.

3. Auburn

I’ve been saying all offseason that this could be Auburn‘s most talented group of receivers ever. That’s not saying that much when you remember that the Tigers haven’t had a first-round receiver in the standard NFL Draft since 1972, they haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver in the 21st century and they haven’t had a wide receiver finish as a first-team All-SEC selection since 1994.

There are some startling historical hurdles that Auburn receivers like Cam Coleman are trying to clear.I admittedly didn't know how drastic these droughts were before digging in for the latest @TheSDSPod: pic.twitter.com/JzYrC3e9q2

Having said all of that, yeah, I’m all on in this group. Cam Coleman is the headliner after he looked more like a 6-star recruit during the last month of his freshman season once he got fully healthy. In his last 3 games, he had 22 catches for 306 receiving yards and 6 (!) touchdowns. Eric Singleton coming over from Georgia Tech could be every bit as important as the aforementioned Lambert-Smith was last year, except Singleton is the more proven player and he got the benefit of a full offseason in the Auburn offense.

Auburn doesn’t just have 2 potential All-SEC guys. It has depth behind them. Malcolm Simmons showed real promise with a 451-yard season after he was part of that elite freshman receiver class last year, along with Perry Thompson. Wake Forest transfer Horatio Fields will give this Auburn passing attack a reliable outside target after he had 12 contested catches and just 3 drops last season.

Credit Hugh Freeze for building a passing attack — one that delivered Auburn its first top-40 passing unit since 1997 — that guys want to be a part of.

2. Alabama

You know about Ryan Williams by now. If you don’t, well, go back and watch one of the most electric players of the 2024 season. You might’ve also heard that he did that as a 17-year-old WR1 in the SEC. Impressive? You bet. Whoever starts at quarterback will have the cheat code of getting to throw passes to the College Football ’26 cover man. That’s a massive positive.

Another positive is that Germie Bernard returned for what’ll be his 3rd year in the Kalen DeBoer offense. The former Washington transfer was the versatile, but not flashy, veteran who could move the chains. It’s easy to forget that he finished the season with 19 catches for 332 yards in his final 4 games. The Tide also added Miami transfer Isaiah Horton, who could allow for Bernard to operate more out of his natural position in the slot. At 6-4, Horton should be able to step in and win battles on the outside. There’s hope that Josh Cuevas can have an increased role in what’ll be his 3rd year in the system.

For the first time in a few years, Alabama feels like it has established veterans at the pass-catcher spots instead of leaning heavily on talented, but unproven weapons. That should bode well in Ryan Grubb’s return to the DeBoer system.

1. LSU

As much as I love Aaron Anderson (more on him in a minute), I wouldn’t have put LSU at No. 1 on this list if not for the portal moves. That’s not a disrespect to returners Chris Hilton Jr. or Zavion Thomas after they combined for 7 catches for 143 yards in the bowl game, but there was a clear sense of urgency for Brian Kelly to go out and land the likes of Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky). Both of them are established Power Conference players who can take over a game.

Nic Anderson’s 2024 was lost to injuries, but during his only full season at Oklahoma in 2023, he was the only FBS player who averaged 20 yards/catch with double-digit touchdown grabs. He also was 7th in the FBS with a 146.5 quarterback rating when targeted (min. 30 targets) and 11th in FBS with 7 catches of 40 yards. That’s a home-run play threat if I’ve ever seen one. Brown’s return prowess will add a key element to LSU, but he’s a 3-year starter in the SEC who watched QB play decline each year that he was at Kentucky. He still made some jaw-dropping plays that proved to be some of UK’s best offensive moments in recent memory.

This Barion Brown catch goes into Kentucky legend pic.twitter.com/kAPEomWnQH

That speed is next level, and if LSU can find ways to unlock it, we’ll get plenty of flashbacks to when Brown had 441 YAC yards as a true freshman in 2022.

But those guys don’t need to put up 1,000-yard seasons for this group to be the SEC’s best. Why? Aaron Anderson is the real deal. On top of the fact that he had 20 missed tackles forced (4th among SEC WRs), the guy had 10 catches on throws that traveled 20 yards downfield and Tre Harris was the only SEC receiver with more YAC yards than Anderson (458). His skill set is unique, but dynamic for a 5-8 slot receiver.

And while LSU is replacing the best tight end in program history (Mason Taylor), we watched true freshman Trey’Dez Green rack up 6 catches for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns in the bowl game. Something tells me that the 6-7 tight end is going to be a problem catching passes from Garrett Nussmeier.

Add it all up and it’s undeniable that LSU has an embarrassment of riches at the pass-catcher spots that’s unlike anybody in the SEC.

Ranking my top 5 SEC pass-catching groups for 2025 Saturday Down South.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Ranking my top 5 SEC pass-catching groups for 2025 )

Also on site :

• Ukrainian recruitment officer killed in suspected car bombing – media
• Elon Musk hints at new ‘America Party’ as Trump fumes billionaire has ‘lost his mind’ after bitter bromance break-up
• One '90s Icon Mistaken for Another in Rare Childhood Photo