Breaking Down The Wide Receiver Position Without Nico Collins

Michigan's new-look receiving corps is smaller, faster and less experienced than it's been in a long time.

With Nico Collins opting out of the 2020 season, Michigan only has six scholarship wide receivers and only Ronnie Bell has been at U-M for more than a year. As a true junior, Bell is truly the leader among the group as he tries to bring along sophomores Giles Jackson, Cornelius Johnson and Mike Sainristil, along with true freshmen AJ Henning and Roman Wilson.

Ronnie Bell

Production: 56 receptions, 903 yards, 3 touchdowns

Rundown: Bell is now the old veteran of the group. The true junior is an emotional player who can lead by example or by being outspoken. He should excel in his role as the alpha and will almost certainly lead the team in receptions after doing so in 2019 with 48 grabs.

2020 Outlook: Bell needs to achieve his career numbers during the nine-game slate. That comes out to about 6 catches and 100 yards per game. It sounds like a lot because Michigan receivers simply haven't done that in a long time, but those are very attainable numbers. More than three touchdowns over the course of nine games should also be the baseline.

Giles Jackson

Production: 9 receptions, 142 yards, 1 touchdown

Rundown: Jackson will be sporting the No. 0 this year and he wants to make a splash in it. He's a flashy player, who will have a chance to impact the game as a back and in the return game, but he should also push Bell for the team lead in receptions. He's quick, fast, tough to bring down and really ready to take a big leap. 

2020 Outlook: If Jackson can reel in 30 catches for 450 yards and three or four touchdowns, with a handful of touches and a score or two as a return man and ball carrier, you'd have to be happy with that production over the course of nine games.

Cornelius Johnson

Production: 4 receptions, 61 yards, 1 touchdown

Rundown: At 6-3, 205 pounds, Johnson is the big body of the group by quite a bit, which is ironic because he's not even as bis as Tarik Black, Nico Collins or Donovan Peoples-Jones from last year's roster. Still, he's going to have a role as the potential outside, red zone, jump ball receiver, but he's also a smooth route runner who can achieve separation. I'm really intrigued to see what kind of a role he has in 2020.

2020 Outlook: It's really hard to say what Johnson's potential production will be in 2020 because we just don't know what the rotation is going to look like. I suspect he'll have a role as the only receiver over 6-feet tall, but I still think he'll put up pretty pedestrian numbers. If he can grab 15 balls for 225 yards and two or three touchdowns, that would be acceptable as the fourth wide receiver, which is where I assume he'll be behind Bell, Jackson and Sainristil.

Mike Sainristil

Production: 8 receptions, 145 yards, 1 touchdown

Rundown: Sainristil needs to take a big leap in year two. We heard all about him as an early enrollee up through fall camp and he just simply didn't produce. He wasn't given many opportunities, but his freshman campaign was a disappointment based on what we were hearing leading up to it. He's ultra quick and super dangerous in the open field. He just needs to get more touches.

2020 Outlook: I think Sainristil and Jackson will battle it out for the No. 2 spot with the two of them being somewhat interchangeable. They are built similary and have comparable skills meaning that a season of 20-30 catches for 300-400 yards and three or four touchdowns is within the realm of possibilities for Sainristil like it is for Jackson.

AJ Henning

Production: N/A

Rundown: Obviously as a freshmen we haven't seen a shred of what Henning can do at this level, but he was lethal in high school. Part wide receiver, part running back, Henning is a lot like Sainristil and Jackson in that he's great after the catch, tough to bring down and extremely quick in and out of breaks and with the ball in his hands.

2020 Outlook: If I had to guess right now, based on what we've heard through the early stages of practice, Henning will be No. 6 on the depth chart. With that said, there are only six scholarship wide receivers, and this year doesn't count against anyone's eligibility, so I think we'll still see him in some cases. If he can catch 10 balls for over 100 yards and a score, he'll be on the same trajectory as Sainristil and Jackson.

Roman Wilson

Production: N/A

Rundown: Even though he's also freshman that we obviously haven't seen, Wilson is very exciting. He's the fastest receiver on the roster with 10.68 speed in the 100-meter dash and reported 4.37 speed in the 40. He's a deep threat and yet another dangerous receiver after the catch. He can easily turn a short catch into a long touchdown even at the collegiate level.

2020 Outlook: We've heard he's looked good already so I'll put him a notch above Henning with the expectation of catching 12-15 passes for around 200 yards and a score or two. If he can get behind some defenses here and there with Joe Milton chucking it to him, he could really surprise some teams in 2020.