They took drastically different paths to get here, but Richard Mullaney and Calvin Ridley find themselves in the same situation: newcomers at Alabama asked to learn the offense and contribute fast.

The Crimson Tide needs receivers to replace the production lost after the departure of the team’s top three pass-catchers in 2014, including arguably the best in school history (Amari Cooper).

Mullaney is a senior transfer, eligible to play right away after graduating from Oregon State. Mullaney once was a three-star recruit who played sparingly as a redshirt freshman. He came into his own as a sophomore with 52 catches for 788 yards. He made the Biletnikoff Award watch list as a junior, but missed half the season with an elbow injury.

While Mullaney comes in a proven commodity with a limited ceiling, Ridley right now is all yet-to-be-tapped potential. A five-star prospect, many considered him the most coveted wide receiver recruit in the class of 2015. Expectations are sky high and he could get an opportunity to contribute right away.

Cooper, DeAndrew White and Christion Jones are all gone. Cam Sims was injured in the spring. The Crimson Tide doesn’t return a wideout who had more than 15 catches last year. Both Mullaney and Ridley have plenty to offer a relatively inexperienced group.

Mullaney is a classic possession reciever. A physical wideout and sharp route-runner who played in a pro-style offense under former Oregon State coach and Alabama alumnus Mike Riley, he averaged 15.2 yards per catch in 2013, but he isn’t much of a deep threat.

Like Cooper, Ridley comes to Alabama out of South Florida and plans to wear No. 9, but those are only two reasons he’ll draw comparisons to the former Bama All-American, now in the NFL. Ridley is blessed with great hands and runs a 4.5 second 40-yard dash. Nicknamed “Showtime,” he brings tremendous athleticism to the table, but also appears to have great discipline for his age.

It’s probably unfair to label anyone the next Cooper or expect similar production as a freshman, but Ridley arrives at a time when the Tide is looking for a new playmaker.

Neither Mullaney nor Ridley had the benefit of participating in spring practice, but that shouldn’t stop either one from quickly moving up the depth chart now that they are getting an opportunity to show their stuff in fall camp.

Chris Black (ankle) is day-to-day after practicing with the first-team offense early in camp alongside Robert Foster, according to AL.com. ArDarius Stewart worked in the second grouping along with Parker Barrineau. Another true freshman, Daylon Charlot (see video below), operated in the third group, ahead of Ridley in the fourth and Mullaney further back.

Mullaney and Ridley have traffic in front of them. The bottom line is that despite attrition at the position, Alabama will field some athletic receivers. Depth at the position shouldn’t be a problem.