Auburn football: 10 players most important to accelerating offense in 2018

5. WR Nate Craig-Myers

Auburn fans have been salivating at what could be with Nate Craig-Myers since he arrived on campus. At 6-2, 214 pounds, he’s fast and physical and should be a matchup nightmare for defensive backs.

But that has only been the case in a few instances during his first two seasons at Auburn.

His freshman season was cut short because of injury and last season was better, but still not what most expected from the highly-touted receiver from Tampa Catholic. He caught 16 passes for 285 yards and three scores.

The two biggest takeaways from Craig-Myers’ 2017 performance: He averaged 20.5 yards per catch and became a reliable target in traffic.

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With Slayton stretching the field with his speed, Stove keeping defenses honest with speed sweeps and Auburn still not throwing the ball to a tight end, Craig-Myers’ big frame and wide catch radius became a pleasant addition to the passing game.

But it wasn’t nearly enough. Craig-Myers caught no more than three passes in a single game.

Like Slayton, Craig-Myers has a year under his belt building chemistry with Stidham. Expect Stidham to find more ways to get the ball to his big target and for Craig-Myers to become a legit threat on third downs and red zone opportunities.