Public perception will tell you Ohio State has by far the best WR group in the Big Ten, and perhaps even the country. Even while losing Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave as 1st Round Picks in last year’s NFL Draft, the Buckeyes return Superstar WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to lead the group as the obvious #1 option, as he caught 95 passes for 1,606 yards, and 9 TD’s as a Sophomore. The question I have for the Buckeyes is who will step up as their number 2 and 3 WR’s in 2022?
There’s certainly a bevy of talented options to choose from for the #2 and #3 targets, but none of them have actually done it yet. Marvin Harrison Jr. had 6 receptions for 71 yards and 3 TD’s against Utah in the Rose Bowl, Emeka Egbuka was the #1 WR recruit in 2021, and Julian Fleming the #1 WR recruit in 2020. And who do they have behind the top 4? The answer is unclear, as virtually nobody on the team outside the top 3 made much of an impact for Ohio State in 2021. While this WR group is loaded on paper, and likely has the highest ceiling in 2022, I believe Michigan’s WR room is actually deeper with proven players at the college level.
After catching only 1 pass in 2021, Ronnie Bell tore his ACL and missed the rest of 2021 season. Since he’s been at Michigan, he’s been the number 1 target for Michigan QB’s as he led the team in receiving yards in both 2019 and 2020. As he’s set to return for the 2022 season, he will bring an element to Michigan’s WR room that it didn’t have last season that could propel it to be the best WR group in the Big Ten in 2022.
After Ronnie Bell went down, the WR room had a revolving door of #1 options. Eight different player led the Wolverines in receiving yards in any given game. Cornelius Johnson stepped up admirably and had a good season, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards, and TD’s, but he still only had 627 yards as the #1 option in a run-heavy offense. Bringing Ronnie Bell back into the fold at the true #1 WR will add that additional element to Michigan’s passing attack that it missed in 2021.
Behind Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson returns as a 4th-year Junior. So do Roman Wilson as a 3rd year Sophomore and Andrel Anthony as a true Sophomore. Mike Sainristil will be back again, and figures to play both ways for the Wolverines. Erick All returns at TE after finishing second on the team in receiving yards in 2021. Freshman RB Donovan Edwards also chipped in 265 receiving yards and is due for a bigger role in 2022. In total, the Wolverines return 10 out of their top 12 passing catchers from last season and also add talented true Freshman Darrius Clemons who flashed with a big TD in Michigan’s Spring game.
While Ohio State’s WR’s will undoubtedly put up the best stats in Ryan Day’s pass-happy offense, I don’t think they have the same depth that Michigan does at WR. With all these proven Wolverine pass-catchers returning, and with the addition of Darrius Clemons, I think Michigan will have the best and deepest WR room they’ve had in a long, long time and it might just be even better than everyone’s perceived best WR room in the Big Ten, in Ohio State’s, for 2022.