Individual Position Rankings

Amari Cooper is not walking back through that door, SEC fans.

And that’s OK.

We have plenty of other talented wide receivers to enjoy watching in 2015. They may not put up the numbers that Alabama’s Amari Cooper did in 2014 or Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews did in 2012, but we’ll still watch several NFL-caliber receivers on Saturdays this fall.

The debate for the top spot on this list will rage throughout the season, with at least three candidates with legitimate preseason arguments.

Who did I put on top? Let’s find out.

Others considered: Marquez North, Tennessee; Malachi Dupre, LSU; Ryan Timmons, Kentucky; Pig Howard, Tennessee; Ricky Seals-Jones, Texas A&M.

10. Keon Hatcher, Arkansas: When you’re a member of a team that carries an offensive reputation built on a nasty offensive line and a pair of 1,100-yard rushers, it’s easy for a wide receiver to get lost in the shuffle. But Hatcher provides senior quarterback Brandon Allen a quality option in the passing game, which the Razorbacks need to keep opposing defenses honest. Hatcher led Arkansas with 43 receptions for 558 yards and six touchdowns last season, and is capable of even more as a senior in 2015.

9. Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia: There may not be another receiver as important to his team this season as Mitchell is to the Bulldogs. Breaking in a new quarterback and with little else in the way of experience at wide receiver, Georgia is likely to ride the fifth-year senior for as far as he can take them. Nearly two years remove from ACL surgery that cost him most almost all of 2013 and slowed him in 2014, Mitchell is back at full-strength and looking for a return to his 2011-12 playing levels. Mitchell has 116 catches for 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns in his now-lengthy career as a Bulldog.

8. Speedy Noil, Texas A&M: Sometimes the nickname really does match the performance. Devante “Speedy” Noil was exactly that as a true freshman in 2014, doing a little bit of every for the Aggies as as receiver, kick returner and punter returner. Noil averaged 118.2 all-purpose yards per game, and seemed plenty comfortable as a receiver in Kevin Sumlin’s offense with 583 yards and five receiving touchdowns. Surrounded by loads of talent at the receiver position with Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones and incoming freshman Christian Kirk, expect Noil to have another nice sophomore season.

7. Travin Dural, LSU: If someone can get this guy a quarterback that can get the ball down the field to him on a consistent basis, look out. Dural had an impressive 20.5 yards per catch in the 2014 season, during which he led the Tigers with 37 catches for 758 yards and seven touchdowns. After entertaining the idea of entering the NFL draft after last season, he’s back to give the LSU offense one of the league’s top downfield threats in 2015. He will be flanked by another big-play receiver — sophomore Malachi Dupre — hindered by an injury during his freshman season.

6. De’Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State: As Dak Prescott’s go-to receiver in 2014, Wilson finished with 680 yards receiving and nine touchdowns on a 10-win Bulldogs team. Prescott returns as the league’s best passer, and Wilson will be expected to contribute even more in the Bulldogs passing game as the former basketball player completes his transition into a football-only athlete. Though he sits at No. 6 on our preseason list, Wilson has Top 5 potential in the 2015 season.

5. Demarcus Robinson, Florida:If it wasn’t for all the turmoil surrounding the Florida program last season, there would have been a lot more talk about how good Robinson played. Without the benefit of stability at quarterback or much imagination from the offensive playbook, Robinson finished as one of the top receivers in the league with 810 yards and seven touchdowns on 53 catches. If new coach Jim McElwain can settle on a quarterback and build his system around getting the ball in the hands of this playmaker, Robinson could enjoy a huge junior season.

4. Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M: Perhaps the most established playmaking receiver in the league not named “Cooper,” Reynolds had a massive 2014 performance for the Aggies. Hauling in a league-best 13 touchdowns while also averaging more than 16 yards per catch, Reynolds was both a red-zone target and a vertical passing threat. Given that he plays in the league’s most pass-happy offense and should benefit from the talent around him at the receiver position, there could be another big season in store for Reynolds in 2015.

3. D’haquille Williams, Auburn: Here is where the real argument begins. There’s a case to be made for Williams to be atop this list based on projectable skills, and I expect criticism for his placement at No. 3. But the SEC’s top three receivers are just too close to call. Each person is likely to reach a different conclusion on which of the top three is best. As a junior-college transfer in 2014, Williams was an instant difference-maker for the Tigers, leading the team with 45 catches for 730 yards and five touchdowns. He has a bright NFL future after his final season at Auburn.

2. Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: Reports out of Oxford are that Treadwell is 100-percent recovered from the gruesome leg injury that ended his 2014 season early. If that’s true, he may very well finish the season at the top of this list. He’s arguably the most talented wide receiver in the SEC, but seeing is believing in terms of recovery from a major injury, and it is that lingering uncertainty that will keep him off of the top of my list as fall camp begins. In not quite two full seasons, Treadwell has 120 career catches for 1,240 yards and 10 touchdowns.

1. Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina: As the conference’s leading returning pass-catcher from a year ago, Cooper enters the season as the player at the top of the totem poll. It is up to Treadwell and Williams to knock this dynamic playmaker from his spot atop the rankings, as he earned the first crack at the No. 1 ranking with 1,136 yards and nine touchdowns on 69 receptions as a sophomore in 2014. Like Williams and Treadwell, Cooper will be catching passes from a new starting quarterback this season. The guy who adjusts best to his new passer likely will top this list in November.