On3 Roundtable: Alabama receivers have a lot to prove despite being deep in talent

In recent history, Alabama has produced a slew of notable talent at the wide receiver position, headlined by household names and first-round draft picks like DeVonta Smith and Jameson Williams. That wasn’t the case last year, as last season marked the first since 2017 that the Crimson Tide did not have a 1,000-yard wideout.

A lot of attention has rightfully been placed on the quarterback position this offseason in Tuscaloosa, but what about the Crimson Tide’s wide receiver back room? BamaOnline‘s Travis Reier sat down with JD PicKell for an On3 Roundtable to discuss just that.

“Deep and talented, and even in some ways proven, because you bring back Jermaine Burton and JaCorey Brooks,” Reier said. “Both a couple of 600-yard receivers a year ago, those two guys combined for 15 touchdown catches in 2022.”

Burton and Brooks were Alabama’s top wideouts from last season, catching passes from former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young who was selected with the very first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

But now that there’s a level of uncertainty at the quarterback position heading into 2023, Brooks, Burton, and the rest of the Crimson Tide wideouts may have to prepare themselves for a new role this upcoming season.

“That being said, there’s still a lot to prove for this group, and I don’t think there’s gonna be as much on them as there has been maybe with some previous rooms that they’ve had when they had quarterbacks like Mac Jones, when they had Tua [Tagovailoa], when they most recently had Bryce Young. I think the approach offensively is gonna dictate some of that,” Reier explained.

Outside of Brooks and Burton, Alabama’s third and fourth leading receivers last season were running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Cameron Latu. The two not only have moved on to their careers in the NFL, but were not wide receivers. And no matter how much more or less the Crimson Tide plan on running the ball this upcoming season, they will need some of their younger, more unproven talent specifically at the wide receiver spot to step up.

“But in the way of consistency, they still have a lot to prove and that’s where guys like Burton and Brooks and some young guys that they really like, a newcomer like Malik Benson to go along with Isaiah Bond,” Reier said. “They need to be able to do it on a more consistent basis because it’s gonna be more on the receivers to lift the play of the quarterback this time around than it had been in previous seasons.”