Ranking the top receivers in college football: Jer...

playJeremiah Smith's TD grab on 4th down draws Ohio State closer (0:33) Who are the best wide receivers in college football entering the 2026 season? There's no debate about who's No. 1. ESPN surveyed more than 20 front office staffers across college football -- including general managers, player personnel directors and scouting directors -- to find out whom they consider the top returning players in the sport. At wide receiver, the debate began with the No. 2 spot. Our panel of talent evaluators, which included staffers from all four power conferences, offered a wide range of votes and opinions on their favorite playmakers. But nobody was bold enough to suggest anyone other than Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith should hold the top spot. Here's how they ranked the top 10 receivers in college football. 2025 stats: 87 receptions, 1,243 receiving yards, 13 TDs (one rushing) Smith has been a first-team All-American in each of his two college seasons. He has logged more receiving yards (2,258) and touchdowns (27) since the start of the 2024 campaign than any other current FBS pass catcher, per ESPN Research. No one in the storied history of Ohio State's wide receiver room has reached 200 catches, 2,000 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns faster. We entered this exercise with open minds. But the consensus among personnel staffers across the country is clear. As one ACC GM put it simply: "Obviously, Jeremiah Smith is No. 1, right?" Smith returns for his junior season as perhaps the most feared offensive weapon in all of college football. A Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2025, Smith totaled more first-down receptions (52) than any other FBS pass catcher outside of Miami's Malachi Toney last fall, finishing in the top five nationally in both receiving yards and touchdowns for the second straight season. He stepped up when it mattered, too; Smith burned D'Angelo Ponds and Indiana for eight catches and 144 yards in a Big Ten title game defeat to the eventual national champions, then followed with seven catches for 157 yards and a touchdown against Miami's fifth-ranked defense in a losing effort in the College Football Playoff. Smith's production stands out. But FBS talent evaluators gush even more over his physical tools -- a combination of imposing size at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds and elite explosiveness, speed and technical ability. "Seeing him on the sideline, it's unbelievable," one GM said. "I couldn't believe his physical makeup, his body, just how athletic he is. It was nuts." Equally dangerous behind the line of scrimmage as he is downfield -- his 31 contested catches rank fourth nationally since Week 1 of the 2024 season, per ESPN Research -- Smith is the definition of a complete wide receiver. "He checks all the boxes," a director of player personnel whose team faced Ohio State last fall said. "I would be surprised if he wasn't the first non-quarterback off the board in next year's NFL draft." Cam Coleman, Malachi Toney, Jeremiah Smith and Charlie Becker are at the top of our receiver rankings. Illustration by ESPN2. Malachi Toney, Miami2025 stats: 109 receptions, 1,211 receiving yards, 113 rushing yards, 298 punt return yards, 11 TDs (one rushing) Toney unsurprisingly received a ton of support among college scouting staffers surveyed by ESPN based on his rare skill set and the game-changing ability he displayed as a true freshman. After digging into Toney's tape, one Big Ten staffer texted back his one-word evaluation: "Whew." Toney was dynamic from Day 1 for the Hurricanes, from his first score in his debut against Notre Dame to burning Indiana for 122 receiving yards in the CFP title game. The 18-year-old made it all look easy as a receiver, rusher and returner who compiled 1,622 all-purpose yards with eight 100-plus-yard performances. Leading up to the 2026 season, we're previewing every conference in college football. ACC | Pac-12 | MWC | American | Sun Belt | Conference USA | MAC The production was impressive, but what really wowed scouts was Toney's toughness for his age and size (5-foot-11, 188 pounds). "He's elite, extremely versatile and extremely dynamic with the ball in his hands," one scout who faced Miami said. "He also gives you really tough blocking on the perimeter. He's a tough matchup. He can hold up on the perimeter and you can't out-physical him." Toney led all FBS receivers with 845 yards after the catch last season, gaining 300 receiving yards after contact and forcing 45 missed tackles. Multiple staffers whose teams played Miami last season praised him as nearly impossible to tackle. Toney also had zero drops on a whopping 141 targets. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson kept finding new ways to get his star freshman the ball in space, and he proved especially dynamic in the screen game. Toney's 54 receptions and 446 receiving yards on screen passes led all receivers nationally. "With his pure competitiveness, playmaking ability, run after the catch and contact balance

Ranking the top receivers in college football: Jer...

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