Texas A&M Football: Can wide receivers take the next step in 2021?

The Texas A&M Football team relied on tight ends and runningbacks through the air

The top receiver for Texas A&M last season was not a wide receiver. In fact, the team’s star pass-catcher Ainias Smith was listed as a runningback. That said, he has always been more of a receiver than a runningback, and with a crowded backfield in 2021, he is likely to make a more full-time shift to the slot.

Smith had 564 yards through the air with 6 touchdown receptions. He was reeling in 13.1 yards per catch, mostly due to his yards after catch production.

If you move along the list though, you still won’t find a receiver. Rather, the receiver with the next highest yardage on the year was a tight end in Jalen Wydermyder. Wydermyer will be missing spring practice with a nagging injury but will return to begin the 2021 season.

In 2020, he was an extremely effective pass-catcher, gaining 506 receiving yards and matching Smith’s total of 6 touchdown receptions. This can only be positive, so the Aggies will look to get another productive season out of him in 2021 at the tight-end position.

But the negative side of this is that there was only a single receiver with over 400 yards receiving. In fact, there were only three receivers who cracked triple digits in their receiving yardage and two of them were unable to hit the 200 mark.

Chase Lane led the team’s receivers with 409 yards. It’s not an impressive number by any stretch and an area that Jimbo Fisher will be desperately looking for new production in. Below him, you’ll find Caleb Chapman with 197 yards and Hezekiah Jones with 178. These receivers accounted for 5 touchdown catches between the three of them.

But things may not be as bleak as they seem.