Predicting Top Five Receivers 2022 Season

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Five on Friday: Predicting Auburn's top five in receiving yards for 2022

Ja'Varrius Johnson (Photo by Getty Images)

In case you weren’t aware, the month of May qualifies as “talking season”. Football season is still 3 and a half months away. Recruiting is in a small lull until schools let out and summer visits start taking place. 

So, now is a great time for predictions. This category shouldn’t be too outlandish. There are some pretty clear choices here. We will rank these in order as well. Let’s get to it

1. Jr. WR, Ja’Varrius Johnson

One of the biggest recruiting wins for Auburn this offseason was keeping J. Johnson on the team. He entered the transfer portal only to return to Auburn for spring practice. 

Johnson was 5th in receiving yards for the Tigers last season. He had 274 yards on 19 receptions. One play that went for 59 yards was called a run play, although Johnson would have still be in 5th place on the team in receiving yards if it were called a reception.

Johnson is my pick for the leader in receiving yards for a couple of reasons. He was productive when he got touches. The offense could have seen an uptick if he were given more touches. He can create plays after the catch. That is where Auburn lacked production last season. Also, he didn’t come back from the portal to see similar numbers. There was more than likely a promise to get him more involved, and he should be. 

2. Sr. WR, Shedrick Jackson

Jackson is the veteran in the receiving corps. He was second on the team in receiving yards in 2021 with 527 on 40 catches. 

Being that he is a possession guy for the most part, Jackson probably stays in the same place. Even so, I believe he sees an uptick in production. He should be a good weapon for Auburn in 2022. 

3. Sr. TE, John Samuel Shenker

Shenker is the veteran in the TE room. He’s also the first non-receiver on the list. I think he’s in line for another record breaking season. In fact, he could easily rival Jackson for number two on the receiving yard list. 

In 2021 Shenker was 4th on the team in receiving yards with 413 yards. The inexperienced receiver group needs help. Even if they didn’t, Shenker is the kind of TE that needs targets. He’s got great hands and knows how to make the tough catches. He is a valuable player for the Tigers in 2022.

4. Jr. RB, Tank Bigsby

Bigsby is my wildcard pick because he could be even higher than No. 4. In my opinion, he is absolutely going to be in the top five in receiving yards. Eric Kiesau is in charge of the offense and he has a history of finding ways to get the ball in the back’s hands: usually untraditionally, too. 

With Bryan Harsin in charge of play calling during the bowl game, Bigsby had a career high 68 yards receiving. He led the team in receiving in the game. Hypothetically, if Bigsby were to average just 50 yards per game receiving (which is not out of the realm of possibility), he would have 600 yards. That would have led the team in 2021.

The plan is to get him the ball all over the field. He should easily break into the top five in this category.

5. Soph. TE/WR, Landen King

This No. 5 spot is completely up for grabs: no pun intended. It could go a lot of different ways, but I’ll go with King. There’s been too much evidence and too much talk about him in the offseason. He is probably the potential breakout player of the year. 

Receiving yards may not be his strong point, but he will probably have enough to make the top five. It feels as though he’s going to be the matchup problem who sees lots of production near the goal line. King seems like the safest bet to me to round out the top five.