SEC Football: Ranking the Top 10 wide receivers entering 2023 season
By Matt Melton
8. Jermaine Burton – Alabama Crimson Tide
2022 Stats: 40 receptions, 677 yards, 7 TD across 13 games
Alabama lands two wide receivers within the Top 10, the first of which comes in Burton at No. 8. A player who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Georgia prior to transferring to Alabama last offseason, Burton enters the 2023 campaign holding career totals of 93 receptions for 1,578 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also having rushed for 50 yards on four attempts.
As for last season, which was Burton’s first in Tuscaloosa, the former Georgia transfer would post a career-year that featured 40 receptions for 677 yards and seven touchdowns. Burton should be one of Alabama’s top wide receivers this season as well, and could even surpass his season totals from a year ago.
7. Zakhari Franklin – Ole Miss Rebels
2022 Stats: 94 receptions, 1,136 yards, 15 TD across 14 games
The highest-ranked new face to SEC football on this list comes in at No. 7 in Franklin, who comes to Ole Miss via transfer after an impressive four-year career at UTSA. Across the last four seasons, the senior has amassed a total of 262 receptions, which has translated to 3,348 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns with the Roadrunners.
Now at Ole Miss, Franklin is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at UTSA, which included leading CUSA with 15 touchdowns on 94 receptions and 1,136 yards, while also ranking No. 2 in the conference in both statistical categories. The UTSA transfer could easily post another strong season with the Rebels as well this fall, one in which Franklin is likely to be one of the top receiving options for Ole Miss.