Why Bryce Cain is Auburn's Biggest Breakout Candidate

One of the biggest headlines of the Auburn Tigers’ offseason was the departure of the Auburn receivers in the transfer portal, including three of the highly-rated “Freeze Four” in former five-star Cam Coleman and two former four-stars, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson.

However, one of the four remained on the Plains: former four-star receiver Bryce Cain, who is primed for a big-time breakout season in 2026.

Cain, the On3’s No. 26 wide receiver prospect in the country, has not seen much playing time in his first two seasons with Auburn. He redshirted his freshman season in 2024 and appeared in just five games on offense in 2025. However, he did appear in all 12 games on punt coverage as a redshirt freshman.

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Cain has six catches for 58 yards in his Auburn career, including a career-best three catches for 28 yards in the 2025 Iron Bowl against Alabama. Cain also had a 31-yard kickoff return for the Tigers against South Alabama in Week 3.

Though Auburn did add five receivers in the transfer portal, the majority of them are outside threats, excelling as either the X or the Z in head coach Alex Golesh’s wide choice offense. The two best are Keshaun Singleton and Jeremiah Koger, each of whom played significant time on the outside for the Bulls in 2025.

However, the group lacks a true dynamic slot threat, which is where Cain can break out in a big way.

The redshirt sophomore’s strongest attribute as a recruit was his game-breaking ability in the open field, where he excelled at making defenders look silly with both his short-area quickness and his ability to get to top speed and stay there. However, that role was filled by Malcolm Simmons and Eric Singleton Jr. for much of last season. Though with those two players gone, and a new offensive system installed, it is officially Cain’s time to shine.

The biggest positive for Cain outside of the increased opportunities for playing time is the new offensive structure Auburn will run in 2026. Golesh’s system, similarly to Josh Heupel’s at Tennessee, thrives on creating space with wide splits and letting receivers either work downfield or create after the catch underneath. The slot in wide choice or wide zone schemes primarily utilizes the underneath levels of the field, allowing receivers to show off their ability to be dangerous with the football in their hands.

Cain is a perfect fit for the role, given his athleticism and shiftiness, and is easily the most natural slot among the Tigers’ current crop of receivers. At 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Cain isn’t the biggest receiver. However, his athleticism means that his ceiling is still extremely high.

The best-case scenario for Cain is likely similar to Houston Cougars and Texans star Tank Dell, who was an extremely dangerous player with the ball in his hands and used his short-area quickness to create separation at a high rate on his routes. Dell is currently listed as having an identical height and weight to Cain, though at the NFL Combine, he was measured at just 5-foot-8.

However, even if he doesn’t reach those lofty expectations, Cain is still primed to be highly productive in a role that should be able to maximize his skillset. Giving Cain open space on the majority of his catches makes him an extremely dangerous weapon for the Auburn offense, and someone that new quarterback Byrum Brown can check down to and then watch him work.

Though much of this is projection since Cain hasn’t played very much in an Auburn uniform, the fit seems nearly perfect on paper. And, for the first time in years, Auburn’s new staff has shown nothing but success on offense at all of their previous stops, which strengthens my belief in the incoming breakout.