For all the hoopla about LSU football's claim to the DBU moniker, the program is more of a wide receiver factory than anything else. Jack Marucci, the program's Director of Program Innovation, found that since 2000, LSU wide receivers who start at least 10 games for the Tigers have an 86 percent chance of making it to the NFL.
Even with LSU's anemic offense in 2025, Zavion Thomas still went top-100 in April's draft, while Barion Brown was a seventh-round pick. With Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weis Jr., and new passing game coordinator George McDonald calling the shots, explosive plays downfield ought to be on the menu for the Tigers in 2026.
Today we preview LSU's wide receivers and tight ends.
| Player | Height/Weight | Catches | Yards | YPC | TDs |
| 1 Jayce Brown (Sr.) | 5'11"/175 | 41 | 712 | 17.4 | 5 |
| 2 Tre' Brown (5th Year Sr.) | 6'2"/190 | 38 | 762 | 20.1 | 4 |
| 3 Tre Wilson III (Rs. Jr.) | 5'11"/190 | 27 | 239 | 8.9 | 3 |
| 4 Jackson Harris (Rs. Jr.) | 6'2"/202 | 49 | 963 | 19.7 | 12 |
| 6 Winnie Watkins (Soph.) | 5'10"/182 | 26 | 373 | 14.3 | 1 |
| 15 Phillip Wright (Rs. Fr.) | 6'0"/171 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 82 Roman Mothershed (Rs. Jr.) | 6'5"/208 | 25 | 259 | 104 | 1 |
| 83 Corey Barber (Fr.) | 5'1''/188 | Five-star freshman | -- | -- | -- |
| 84 Tyree Holloway (Rs. Jr.) | 5'10"/174 | 34 | 661 | 19.4 | 8 |
| 86 Jabari Mack (Fr.) | 6'0"/195 | Four-star freshman | -- | -- | -- |
| 88 Malik Elzy (Rs. Jr.) | 6'2"/214 | 7 | 84 | 12 | 0 |
LSU may be 11-deep at receiver as far as the roster goes, but realistically speaking only four or five will be truly counted upon once the season kicks off against Clemson. Those will most likely be the ones who went with Sam Leavitt and Landen Clark to a late-July throwing session in Dallas: Jayce Brown, Jackson Harris, Tre Wilson, Winnie Watkins and Malik Elzy.
Jayce Brown was LSU's biggest portal addition at the wide receiver position, as the former All-Big 12 selection from Kansas State is choosing to spend his final year of eligibility in Baton Rouge. Brown is a big play waiting to happen, and his career 1972 receiving yards were good for eighth all-time at K-State. He has been LSU's No. 1 receiver both in number and in drills, being the first one in line for any type of work with Sam Leavitt. He'll likely battle Trey'Dez Green for the team lead in catches, yards, and touchdowns.
Tre Brown has earned everything on the football field, going from Hutchinson Community College to Old Dominion to now LSU. Brown was a third-team All-Sun Belt selection last year after leading the conference with 20 yards per catch. He's shown he can make the jump from JUCO to the FBS level; now we'll have to see that he can hang in the SEC.
Tre Wilson is someone who's shown they can hang in the SEC, now he has to show he can stay healthy. Wilson was a five-star prospect in the Class of 2023 who signed with Florida and earned Freshman All-American honors. In three seasons with the Gators, Wilson has 107 career receptions for 1043 yards and 10 touchdowns, but has played in just 12 games over the past two seasons. In 2024, he was limited to just four games before having season-ending hip surgery, while last season he missed four games with a high ankle sprain.
Jackson Harris is a lot like Tre Brown: a bigger-bodied receiver who was a solid performer last season at a lower level. For Brown, it was the Sun Belt; for Harris, it was Hawaii in the Mountain West. Harris' 19.7 yards per reception was eighth in the country, and his 12 touchdowns were the third-most at the end of the regular season.
Winnie Watkins was the only skill position player from Ole Miss to follow Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge, and his familiarity with the offense ought to give him a leg up on the rest of the room. Watkins might not be the first or second option, but he knows the offense, and he's acclimated to the college game.
Malik Elzy is another big-bodied option for LSU in 2026. The Chicago native and Illinois transfer left the Illini last September in order to preserve a redshirt season. The targets might be hard to come by with so many others in the room, but Elzy could at the very least be a red-zone option for LSU in the early portion of the season, with roles still to be determined.
If those are the likely top-five receivers on the depth chart, then the bottom half would consist of Phillip Wright, Roman Mothershed, Tyree Holloway, and a pair of incoming freshmen Corey Barber and Jabari Mack. Barber, a former Ole Miss commit, flipped to LSU within days of Lane Kiffin accepting the LSU job, while Mack is an in-state product from powerhouse program Destrehan.
Phillip Wright was the lone holdover from last year's wide receiver room, and his speed might force him into playing time. With so many draft-eligible receivers on the roster, Wright, Barber, and Mack could be the future of the LSU wide receiver room.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: 2026 LSU Football Position Preview: Rebuilt wide receiver room