Auburn football might have an NFL receiver on its roster
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Auburn's receiver room has been a question mark for quite some time.
Dating all the way back to the beginning of the Gus Malzahn era, even when the Tigers would recruit high-end talent at the position, things normally didn't work out for the receivers at the next level.
Auburn struggled to develop guys and even put them in a position to make the jump to the NFL. Most just fizzled out, transferred, or were never heard from again. Now whether that's a scheme issue or a coaching issue is up for debate.
Just know if you believe it's primarily because Auburn ran the ball under Malzahn, LSU finished higher nationally in rushing yards per game than they did in passing yards per game six times from 2013-2020 and arguably had the best core of receivers drafted into the NFL during that span. Don't forget Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase are a thing now too.
Check out this stat about Malzahn's ability to get talented receivers in the NFL.
This is our fifth installment of Auburn Daily's Stat of the Day.
Stat of the day
Under Gus Malzahn, Auburn signed 18 four-star (or higher) wide receivers. Four of them were drafted (Darius Slayton, Noah Igbinoghene, Anthony Schwartz, and Seth Williams). Five of those 18 players are still in college, and four of them are still on Auburn's roster (Kobe Hudson transferred to UCF). This includes J.J. Evans, Ze'Vian Capers, Ja'Varrius Johnson, and Malcolm Johnson Jr.
What it means
Malzahn had the opportunity to walk it out with 13 different four-star wide receivers (whether that means they were recruited, came and played at Auburn and graduated, or they were recruited and eventually transferred), and he managed to get four of them drafted.
Technically, he got receivers drafted at a 30% rate. Auburn still has four of those Malzahn receivers on roster, and with with the addition of four-star Omari Kelly from this year's class, that could mean one of them could get drafted under Bryan Harsin and Ike Hilliard if the Tigers were stay on course with Malzahn's output.
For reference, the Florida Gators, who had a very similar record to Auburn during Malzahn's time (Florida was 63-37 from 2013-2020, Auburn was 68-36), recruited 14 four-star (or higher) receivers, and seven of them have been drafted. Two are still in college, so that means Florida has gotten four-star receivers drafted at a 58% rate in the same conference with slightly less talent.
This year is an excellent opportunity for one of those Auburn receivers to step up and make themselves known. Now, the quarterback position may end up hindering the breakout potential of one of these receivers, but I still trust Ike Hilliard to not only develop these guys already in the room, but evaluate talent on the recruiting trail at a high level.
The Tigers could be in good hands with Hilliard and Harsin.
Read yesterday's Stat of the day.
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