Three questions as Oregon reloads with young, talented group of receivers

Oregon’s summer offseason is in full swing. While we count down the days until kickoff in Atlanta on Sept. 3, ScoopDuck has you covered with position-by-position breakdowns ahead of fall camp. Next up are the wide receivers.

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By the time the 2021 season came to a close, Oregon’s receiver room had experienced a major overhaul from the start of the year. Johnny Johnson III, Jaylon Redd, Devon Williams, and Micah Pittman were the Ducks’ primary receivers early last fall, but none of the four played a snap during Oregon’s Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma.

Pittman hit the transfer portal midway through the season, Johnson III and Redd missed the final four games of the year due to injury, and Williams opted out of the bowl game to enter the NFL Draft.

All four have now seen their Oregon careers come to a close, but even still, the Ducks arguably have more young, exciting talent at receiver than they do at any position on the roster. With a highly-coveted crop of former 4-star signees in the fold, Oregon’s offense could be electric in 2022. But it will need some new primary targets to emerge.

Here are three questions for the Ducks’ receiver room ahead of fall camp.

Who will be the go-to guy?

During fall camp last August, Troy Franklin and Dont’e Thornton stole the headlines as true freshmen.

At one point, Mario Cristobal went so far to say the duo of ’21 4-star signees “looked like veterans.” When Oregon released its first two-deep of the season, Franklin was listed as the starting “X” receiver, leading many to believe he could be an integral part of Joe Moorhead’s offense.

It didn’t quite turn out that way for Franklin or Thornton, though.

Both played sparingly in year one and were often stuck on the bench behind the team’s veterans. But now, both players will be counted in to deliver upon their massive potential and become productive pass-catchers on a week-to-week basis.

During spring ball, Franklin and Thornton both had moments of brilliance. Thornton put up video game numbers in the spring game and finished the day with three catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

In the coming months, we’ll find out if either player emerges as the go-to guy in Kenny Dillingham’s offense. But for Oregon to improve on last year’s disappointing finish, both Franklin and Thornton will both need to become consistent playmakers.

How productive can Chase Cota be for Oregon?

Oregon fans are rightfully excited about the potential of Franklin and Thornton. But the addition of former UCLA wideout Chase Cota could prove to be significant, too.

A former 4-star recruit out of South Medford (Ore.), Cota was a heralded prospect when he signed with the Bruins in 2018, but he didn’t necissarily put up gaudy numbers there. Throughout his four years in Westwood, he tallied 883 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

This spring, however, Cota turned heads as soon as he arrived on campus. He’s always been a very good blocker who does the little things well, and he is capable of lining up at all three receiver positions.

Like Thornton, Cota put up some eye-popping numbers in the spring game and finished the day with 100 yards on six catches. That performance, and his production throughout spring ball, has many within the program optomistic that Cota can provide far than just a veteran presence for the Ducks.

“I think this place means a little bit to Chase,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said in March. “You can see that he’s intelligent, he has experience, so certainly excited to see what he can do out there.”

Is Seven McGee Oregon’s next superstar?

He sure looked like it during the Ducks’ spring game in April.

McGee, a former 4-star recruit, has been beloved by Oregon’s fanbase since he committed to the program early in his high school career. As a true freshman, he played sparingly at running back and was buried on the depth chart behind Travis Dye, CJ Verdell, and Byron Cardwell.

But McGee made a position change to slot receiver late in the year to alleviate Oregon’s injury situation and showed some promising glimpses. When Dan Lanning took over the program, he and Dillingham opted to keep McGee there.

Since then, he has made their decision look like a brilliant one.

McGee caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown during Oregon’s spring game and genuinely looked like a threat to score every time he touched the ball. He and Kris Hutson will compete for snaps in the slot, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say McGee has a leg up in the position battle heading into fall camp.

Like the rest of Oregon’s young receivers, McGee will undoubtedly have to deal with the growing pains of taking on a larger role. But he had a tremendous spring and appears to have a very bright future ahead of him in Eugene.