With Marvin Mims off to NFL Draft, who will be OU football's top wide receiver?
NORMAN — As a sophomore in 2021, OU wide receiver Marvin Mims was plenty inconsistent.
Mims had three games of more than 100 yards and a pair of multi-touchdown games but also had seven games with fewer than 50 receiving yards.
In 2022, Mims found a much greater level of consistency, with four games of more than 100 yards and just three games with fewer than 50 yards receiving. Two of the latter were games where Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel was injured.
After recording 54 catches for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns, Mims declared for the NFL Draft.
The Sooners’ receiver room will take a big hit with the loss of not only Mims but Theo Wease as well.
Here’s a look at OU’s wide receiver position entering spring practice, which begins Tuesday for the Sooners.
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Season rewind
While Mims was the Sooners' top receiver, with more than double the amount of yardage as OU’s next-leading receiver and 15 more catches than any of his teammates, things were balanced outside of Mims’ role.
Tight end Brayden Willis had 39 catches for 514 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns.
Drake Stoops continued his emergence, with a career-best 39 catches for 393 yards and three touchdowns.
Jalil Farooq and running back Eric Gray also had at least 33 catches.
Wease shined early in the season, with 11 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns over the first four games.
But after that, Wease’s production took a hit. He had just five catches for 60 yards over the next six games before his three-catch, 123-yard one-touchdown performance in the regular-season finale against Texas Tech.
After the regular season ended, the former five-star prospect announced he would enter the transfer portal, soon settling on heading to Missouri.
While Mims was the Sooners’ most consistent producer among receivers, Stoops was a steadying influence as well.
He had at least one catch in all but one game and was especially a strong short-yardage target for Gabriel.
After a breakout performance in the Alamo Bowl the year before, Farooq emerged as a sophomore.
Hit biggest game came against Iowa State, when he had four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
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Roster management
Who’s out: Brian Darby, Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, Trevon West
Who’s in: Andrel Anthony*, Keyon Brown, Jaquaize Pettaway
*Already enrolled
Farooq figures to be the Sooners’ top receiver after spending much of the season as the second option behind Mims.
Farooq has shown breakaway speed and generally steady hands.
“We’ve got a lot to prove,” Farooq said. “I feel like a lot of people are gonna be doubting us. We’re gonna come out and show the world that we’re still here.”
While Stoops doesn’t figure to become a much different receiver than he was last season, he figures to again be a steadying presence.
Beyond that, there’s plenty of uncertainty.
Michigan transfer Andrel Anthony had 19 catches for 328 yards over the last two seasons for the Wolverines.
While the Sooners brought in some highly-touted recruits in last year’s class, it wound up being preferred walk-on Gavin Freeman who made the biggest contribution.
Freeman figures to continue to get chances in spots, but they’ll need more production out of Jayden Gibson (one catch, 12 yards as a freshman) and Nic Anderson (one catch, five yards).
Two of the more intriguing names among the group are D.J. Graham and J.J. Hester.
Graham started off last season as a cornerback before making the move to the offensive side.
He didn’t play there as he worked to make the move, but Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and new receivers coach Emmett Jones have expressed excitement in Graham’s offensive potential.
After transferring from Missouri, Hester was expected to play a significant role last season before suffering a season-ending injury that limited him to just one catch.
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Depth chart
The starters
Jalil Farooq, Jr., 6-1, 203
Drake Stoops, RSr., 5-10, 190
Andrel Anthony, Jr., 6-2, 190
The reserves
Nic Anderson, RFr., 6-4, 200
Keyon Brown, Fr., 6-3, 188
LV Bunkley-Shelton, RJr., 5-11, 195
Gavin Freeman, So., 5-8, 173
Jayden Gibson, So., 6-5, 195
D.J. Graham, Sr., 6-0, 190
J.J. Hester, RJr., 6-4, 200
Jaquaize Pettaway, Fr., 5-11, 170
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: With Marvin Mims gone, who will be the Sooners' top WR?
