Recently, I ranked every starting quarterback in the Big 12 for the 2024 season. It was an exercise to look at how Arizona falls into place in the bigger picture of their new conference, and things were promising. Noah Fifita clocked in at second, and one of the big reasons for that is his connection with Tetairoa McMillan.
However, there are quite a few other wide receivers in the Big 12 who are knocking on the door of 1,000-yard seasons and/or futures in the NFL. With that, let's get into my projected Top 5 rankings for Big 12 wide receivers in the 2024 season.
I'll make the semi(?)-controversial choice of planting Jaylin Noel firmly behind Jayden Higgins, despite Noel having spent two more seasons with Iowa State than Higgins. The co-captain led Iowa State and was tied for fourth in the Big 12 with seven touchdowns, but scoring isn't a stat that reliably translates from year to year and he was surpassed by Higgins by the end of the season.
Despite this, his 820 receiving yards were good for second among the Cyclones and ninth in the conference, while his 66 receptions lead the team. He'll return for a fourth season in Ames alongside second-year starter and reigning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in quarterback Rocco Becht. Although this is a potent receiving corps with many mouths to feed, the speedster Noel will still rank among the conference's best as a returning Second-Team All-Big 12 pass catcher.