Brian Kelly reveals LSU's plan to replace production of Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr.

No team in the country generated more yards or points per game of offense than LSU last football season, averaging 543.5 yards and 45.5 points per game in 2023.

But key three pieces of that explosive offense have now taken their talents to the NFL, with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. all being selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft a few months ago.

157 catches, 2,746 yards, and 31 receiving touchdowns are not easy to replace, which is what Nabers and Thomas combined for as college football’s top wide receiver duo. But at SEC Media Days, LSU head coach Brian Kelly revealed how he sees their production being replaced this upcoming season.

“I don’t think you look towards one player,” Kelly said Monday. “I think when we look at our football team in its totality, there will be a number of players that we’ll count on.”

“Kyren Lacey, he will be certainly a player that we lean on. But I think at the wide receiver position, there is probably six to eight players that will get the opportunity to contribute and make an impact,” Kelly explained.

All eyes will be on Lacy this upcoming season, already regarded as the next in line to potentially uphold the lineage of elite wide receiver play at LSU.

Lacy was LSU’s third-leading wideout last season and will more than likely be quarterback Garrett Nussmeier‘s WR1 this year. Connecting on six passes for 95 yards in the Tigers’ bowl win against Wisconsin. But Kelly knows he won’t be able to get the job done by himself.

“I think that’s what I like about our receiving corps more than anything else, is the depth. I think we’ve got speed on the perimeter. Chris Hilton showed that in our bowl game against Wisconsin, his ability to track the ball down the field,” Kelly explained. “I think we’ve got the ability to play inside out at the slot receiver position. I think we’ve got great depth there.”

Along with returning wideouts like Lacy and Hilton, LSU has also added several pass catchers out of the transfer portal to their roster this offseason.

“We brought in CJ Daniels, I think he will help us. Zavion [Thomas] will help us, transfer from Mississippi State. I think we brought in the right mix of players to give us the depth necessary inside and out to make up for that lost production,” Kelly concluded.

LSU also lost their offensive playcaller from last season with Mike Denbrock becoming Notre Dame‘s new offensive coordinator, as the Tigers will have to search for newfound production in a multitude of places this upcoming college football season.