UCLA Football 2022 Positional Preview: Wide Receivers
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With UCLA football's offseason winding down, it's time to start looking ahead to the 2022 campaign and what lies ahead for the Bruins on the gridiron. Before scouting opponents and projecting the Pac-12 pecking order, it's best to look within by picking apart how UCLA will shape up on its own sidelines.
All Bruins will be breaking down every position group over the next week, and the wide receivers are up next. To catch up on the positions already covered, take a look below:
Aug. 24: Quarterbacks
Aug. 25: Running Backs
Depth Chart
WR 1: Jake Bobo, senior
WR 2: Matt Sykes, junior
WR 3: Ashton Authement, redshirt junior
WR 4: Braden Pegan, freshman
WR 5: Ezavier Staples, redshirt freshman
WR 1: Kam Brown, redshirt junior
WR 2: Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, sophomore
WR 3: Ryan Cragun, redshirt senior
WR 4: Jadyn Marshall, freshman
WR 5: Devanti Dillard, redshirt sophomore
SL WR 1: Kazmeir Allen, redshirt senior
SL WR 2: Logan Loya, junior
SL WR 3: Josiah Norwood, redshirt senior
SL WR 4: Bradley Schlom, redshirt sophomore
SL WR 5: Elijah Rodriguez, freshman
The two receivers who earned the most snaps last year – Kyle Philips and Chase Cota – are both gone, leaving the receiver room primed for plenty of turnover at the top.
Jake Bobo coming in from Duke definitely eases a lot of the pain, and he'll step right into the role Cota held down on the outside the past four years. Bobo is bound to be a much higher-volume player, though, as he led Duke in receptions and yards last season with 74 and 794, respectively.
Sykes will be the next option outside the numbers, holding onto the consistent second-string role he earned in 2021. The targets won't be regular, but he is a good enough blocker and has a big enough frame that he'll earn some decent playing time regardless.
Authement has made some solid catches in fall camp, while Pegan debuted with the scout team on day one of Bowling Green prep.
In the more versatile Z receiver role, Brown is in line to once again draw the majority of the starts at the position. The former Texas A&M transfer may need to put up bigger numbers than he did last year – 247 yards and a touchdown on 17 catches – in order to fend off Mokiao-Atimalala, a transfer out of UCF.
Cragun was wearing his blue offensive jersey as fall camp turned to game week, suggesting he is ahead of both Marshall and Dillard on the depth chart.
Allen will surely move all over the field, getting touches in both the passing and running game and lining up in multiple different positions. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson used Allen as a security blanket throughout spring camp, though, and based on how the veteran signal-caller used to do the same with Philips, the speedy Allen could help fill in that vacancy in the slot.
Loya and Norwood will both get solid playing time when Allen is moved to different spots, and he is probably too much of a home run hitter to be used as an every-down guy regardless.
The receiver room was ultimately so crowded that Colson Yankoff started practicing with the running backs and DJ Justice moved to defensive back by the time fall camp came to a close. They are obviously options to return to receiver if needed, but they are more likely to be consistent contributors on special teams this fall.
Predictions
The Bruins' passing game is bound to change with the new personnel at the top of the depth chart, since Bobo is a very different player than Philips and there isn't a clear replacement for Greg Dulcich at tight end.
As a result, coach Chip Kelly could tweak his offensive schemes and playcalling tendencies, resulting in more outside-the-numbers looks for Bobo.
Bobo could very easily end the year with 700 yards and five touchdowns on 55 receptions – a slight step back from his stats at Duke, but that is to be expected when he is no longer the only option in the passing game.
Allen will probably get the second-most looks on the team, finishing the year with somewhere in the ballpark of 500 yards on 35 catches. The former track star will surely find the end zone numerous times, and he could also add another 150 yards on the ground and even more as an all-conference-level kick returner.
Brown breaking out will also be integral to the passing game successfully moving into this new era. While he may not be a gamebreaker right off the bat, he could end up with 450 yards and a few touchdowns of his own off roughly 30 catches.
Mokiao-Atimalala, Loya, Sykes and Norwood will gobble up the rest of the remaining targets, with others only chipping in during garbage time. Later in the year, Marshall or Pegan could work their way up the depth chart, but they probably won't put up significant numbers as true freshmen.
The receiver room as a whole will probably do more heavy lifting in the passing game now that Dulcich is gone without a clear successor, and the Bruins will need several players to take major strides forward if they are going to improve upon last season's output.
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