Ole Miss lost three players in the first round of the NFL Draft, delivering a blow to left tackle, wide receiver and defensive tackle.

But the quality depth that Hugh Freeze said he aimed to create upon his arrival in Oxford has started to take shape, leaving strong what could have been weak after draft and graduation night.

Ole Miss should again be a contender to win its first SEC championship. These positions will have a lot to do with the outcome.

STRENGTHS

  • Quarterback: Chad Kelly returns after throwing for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns. Even after losing Laquon Treadwell, he has a ton of weapons available at wide receiver. Senior Akeem Judd and junior Jordan Wilkins could be the bigger backs the offense has been missing and as good as Kelly is, replacing Laremy Tunsil at left tackle with freshman Greg Little will be a factor. Kelly can run if he needs to for a while after finishing with 500 yards (second on the team) and a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns last season.
  • Wide receiver: Treadwell caught 15 of the team’s 35 receiving touchdowns, and he and sixth-round pick Cody Core left as the team’s leaders in receiving yardage. But Quincy Adeboyejo looks like a senior primed to take over the No. 1 role. Damore’ea Stringfellow could be right alongside him. Evan Engram is a wide receiver at tight end, and a crop of young catchers like Van Jefferson and Damarkus Lodge are looking to make their first impacts.
  • Defensive front: As Robert Nkemdiche was slinging off double teams, Marquis Haynes was raking in 10 sacks to tie a school record. That shouldn’t change with Nkemdiche gone. Haynes, a junior, is a handful. He had 16.5 tackles for loss. At the other end, senior Fadol Brown will look to take his team-high 10 hurries and increase his 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. At tackles, Breeland Speaks started two games as a freshman and had a solid 32 tackles, and Issac Gross is back for a fifth year after neck surgery.

WEAKNESSES

  • Offensive line: As good as top recruit Greg Little can be at left tackle, the SEC isn’t high school. All five starters from the Sugar Bowl are gone. Senior Robert Conyers had five starts at center, and junior Rod Taylor had two at guard last season. Sophomores Jordan Sims and Javon Patterson started six games at the guards last season. The good news is Florida State is going to be trial by fire in the Labor Day opener and will tell Ole Miss exactly what it can and can’t do.
  • Running back: Judd and Wilkins are a transition from the smaller backs Ole Miss hasn’t been able to replace in recent years. Wilkins is a 6-foot-1, 214-pound junior who rushed for 379 yards on 72 carries, and Judd is a 5-foot-11, 222-pound senior coming off 425 yards on 78 carries. Both averaged better than five yards per carry. There’s still a lot to prove, especially behind a new-look line.
  • Special teams: Gary Wunderlich was the SEC’s top scorer among kickers with 9.2 points per game, which includes going perfect on all 63 of his PATs and 19-of-25 on field goals. What Ole Miss needs on special teams, besides a new head hunter with Channing Ward off to the NFL, is scoring. On 34 kick returns, the Rebels averaged 17.7 yards (13th in the SEC) with zero touchdowns. Jaylon Walton had 27 of those returns. Freshman WR Tre Nixon, if he doesn’t redshirt, could be an explosive option there.