Fly War Eagle
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Auburn football: 3 wide receivers that can become WR1 in 2021

By Andrew Hughes

Auburn football safety Sammy Cohen (12) is called for defensive holding as he guards Auburn wide receiver Kobe Hudson (5) during Auburn football A-Day spring game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
Auburn football safety Sammy Cohen (12) is called for defensive holding as he guards Auburn wide receiver Kobe Hudson (5) during Auburn football A-Day spring game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. /
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Unlike last year, there aren’t clear top dogs in the Auburn football WR room heading into the 2021 season.

At this point in 2020, Bo Nix had two future NFL draft picks (Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz) and a third eventual NFL signee (Eli Stove) who were established and trusted to shoulder the load during the upcoming campaign.

This season, the top-rated pass-catching recruit is a sixth-year transfer playing for his third school.

The picture is a lot different this year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be success stories. In fact, topping last year’s 6-5 record seems like certainty with a normal schedule and offseason to prepare for the Tigers.

Fly War Eagle sees these 3 receivers as the top candidates to be WR1 for Nix, TJ Finley, and/or Dematrius Davis in 2021:

Auburn football potential WR1 #1: Ze’Vian Capers

Zac Blackerby of the Locked On Auburn podcast and USA Today’s Auburn Wire got an interesting tidbit of info and insight from Justin Hokanson of Auburn Live on his latest show:

"“Malcolm Johnson Jr, who has not been talked about until (Monday) coincidedentily,” Hokanson said. “Malcolm Johnson Jr. is a freshman 4-star who is very raw. He is getting first-team reps ahead of Kobe Hudson a lot. “The receiver position is wide open but people just go ‘(Ze’Vian) Capers, (Elijah) Canion, Hudson’ and then maybe Demetris (Robertson) but Malcolm Johnson Jr. is completely in the mix.”"

A few things here:

  1. Malcolm Johnson Jr. is clearly a name to look out for. Perhaps expecting him to leapfrog to the top of the depth chart anytime soon is an act of overzealousness, but he is making waves here in his first collegiate practices.
  2. Kobe Hudson’s stock has tumbled a bit in recent times.
  3. Ze’Vian Capers has made enough noise to have his name casually mentioned as a potential WR1.

AL.com’s Tom Green also mentioned Capers as a consistent returning piece in the WR room:

"…it’s the consistency shown throughout the position group — and certainly from some of the younger returning pieces like Elijah Canion and Ze’Vian Capers — through the first eight practices that has Harsin feeling good about Auburn’s receivers at this point."

It was Hudson’s name just a few months ago that was mentioned in the same light that Capers’ is now. Capers has used the summer to catapult himself into the mix for being one of the main movers and shakers in the fall.

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