Purdue Position in Review: Wide receivers
To reflect on Purdue’s 2023 season, we will take a position-by-position look at how the Boilermakers performed during the 4-8 campaign. Today, we look at the wide receiver position.
CONTRIBUTORS
As the season neared, Deion Burks generated quite a bit of buzz as a potential breakout receiver for the 2023 Boilermakers. After a massive game in the season opener, he turned in a solid season to lead the Boilermakers with 47 receptions, 629 yards and seven touchdown grabs.
Behind him, TJ Sheffield and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen finished as the second-and-third-leading receivers despite playing fewer than 12 games. Sheffield missed the Old Oaken Bucket game after entering the transfer portal, and Yaseen never played following the Iowa game due to lingering knee issues.
Those three were the only receivers regularly on the field for much of the first half of the season. Once Yaseen went down, Purdue rotated in Jayden Dixon-Veal, Mershawn Rice and Jaron Tibbs to fill the void. Andrew Sowinski joined the pack, as well, especially after Rice suffered a season-ending injury at Michigan.
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Only four wide receivers (Burks, Sheffield, Yaseen, Dixon-Veal) caught more than five passes for Purdue in 2023, as the running backs and tight ends played a prominent role in the passing game, as well.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
With Purdue’s top two receivers in the portal–along with Rice–and questions about the long-term health of Yaseen, this projects as a key area for the Boilermakers to focus on in the transfer portal. Purdue will see FAU transfer Jahmal Edrine return from a torn ACL in fall camp, which caused him to miss the entire 2023 season. Besides him, though, it’s a thin group, Dixon-Veal, Tibbs, Sowinski, Elijah Canion and Arhmad Branch are the only returnees to catch a pass in 2023.
Branch and Ryne Shackelford each redshirted in 2023 and will look to crack the rotation next fall, and receivers Keondre Henry, Tra’Mar Harris, Jesse Watson and Shamar Rigby remain committed to Purdue. The portal opens for 30 days on December 4. Early Signing Day will take place on December 20.
PROJECTED PURDUE 2024 WIDE RECEIVERS
| Name | 2024 eligibility | 2023 stats |
| Elijah Canion | RS Senior | 1 rec., 4 yds. |
| Jayden Dixon-Veal | Senior | 16 rec., 142 yds., TD |
| Jaron Tibbs | Sophomore | 5 rec., 42 yds. |
| Andrew Sowinski | RS Senior | 3 rec., 29 yds. |
| Jahmal Edrine | RS Junior | DNP – knee injury |
| Arhmad Branch | RS Freshman | DNP – redshirt |
| Ryne Shackelford | RS Freshman | DNP – redshirt |
MORE: Quarterbacks | Running backs
