2024 LSU Football Position Preview: Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Who wants it?

When it comes to wide receiver duos, I’m not sure any program has had more success than LSU over the past decade.

• Beckham and Landry
• Jefferson and Chase
• Nabers and Thomas

The year Nabers and Thomas had last fall will be one remembered forever and it should have ended the same way Jefferson and Chase’s 2019 did, rather than a mirror of Beckham and Landry’s 2013.

But nothing good can ever last and Nabers and Thomas went in the first 23 picks of this past NFL Draft. I’ll miss them, you’ll miss them, but I’m willing to bet nobody will miss that tandem more than Garrett Nussmeier. The soon to be QB1 for the Fightin’ Tigers is losing a combined 157 receptions, 2,746 yards, and 31 touchdowns. There’s plenty of reps to be had in 2024, who wants ‘em?

Is Kyren Lacy a Batman or a Robin? We’ll find out this fall. Catching 30 passes for about 550 yards is okay when you’re a No. 3 option and a pair of first rounders are soaking up all of the opposing defense’s attention. But if Lacy has dreams of going in the first two days of next spring’s Draft and LSU wants to make it to the CFP, he’s going to have to show he can be a true No. 1 or a really overqualified No. 2.

Of course it takes a village to be a top-10 passing attack and LSU hit the portal to bring in some veteran depth. CJ Daniels comes in after being the top option for that Liberty team that made it to the Fiesta Bowl, while Zavion Thomas is coming home to Louisiana after spending his first two years in Starkville.

I think Daniels, not Lacy, is the biggest wildcard for LSU’s passing attack in 2024. He comes to Baton Rouge as the most accomplished receiver on the roster, but that was at G5 level. Can he make the adjustment from going against C-USA DBs to SEC DBs? If he does Nussmeier ought to have a legit 1-2 tandem in Lacy and Daniels.

Mississippi State’s offense was a mess in 2023, but Thomas was the best weapon the Bulldogs had. He was a freshman All-American punt returner in 2022 so at the very least he should—hopefully?—sure up LSU’s multi-year woes at the punt and kick return spot.

If there was ever a time for Chris Hilton or Aaron Anderson to deliver upon their elite high school rankings, this needs to be the year. Hilton is entering his fourth year of college football, while Anderson is going into year three. Hilton and Anderson had their path to the field blocked by Nabers and Thomas, but Hilton had a pretty good showing in the bowl win over Wisconsin with three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. Anderson, meanwhile, played in 11 games after being limited to just one as a true freshman with Alabama. His season was kind of a dud as he only caught 12 passes and got his punt returner job taken from him after muffing one against Florida State.

There’s a very real chance that LSU loses all of Lacy/Daniels/Thomas/Hilton/Anderson for one reason or another at season’s end, and if they do the redshirt freshman tandem of Shelton Sampson and Kyle Parker need to be ready to earn playing time in 2024 so they can head into ‘25 as the no-doubt top two options on the depth chart. Neither recorded a stat in 2023. Sampson played in three games, while Parker played in four.

True freshmen Kylan Billiot comes to LSU as a player just outside the top 100 in the 2024 cycle (101), while fellow freshman Jelani Watkins has been turning heads because of his speed. Watkins was a track star coming out of high school and won the Texas 6A 200-meter dash as a junior. He might be the fastest player on LSU’s roster and I’m hoping we get a chance to see him try and take the top off of a defense.

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Brian Kelly has a reputation of developing tight ends but Mason Taylor’s numbers dipped slightly from his freshman year (38/414/3) to his sophomore year (36/348/1). But considering Jayden Daniels won the Heisman, Malik Nabers finished second for the Bilentikoff and Brian Thomas led the country in touchdowns, I’ll take that trade 100 times out of 100.

I would imagine Taylor has his best year yet as a Tiger in 2024. Garrett Nussmeier, obviously, isn’t the scrambler that Daniels is so Taylor will likely get a ton of check down opportunities. Taylor is draft-eligible at season’s end, so an All-SEC type of season from Taylor might lead him to going pro.

LSU’s got a pair of athletic specimens waiting in the wings to take over the tight end room if Taylor does leave. Ka’Morreun Pimpton was a top-10 tight end in last year’s class and appeared in eight games…but caught one (1) pass for one (1) yard. He’s a project and hopefully the work put in during spring practice and fall camp leads to a big year.

Another tantalizing project is in the form of true freshman Trey’Dez Green. Green was the No. 1 tight end in the cycle and is about as freaky of an athlete as it gets.

Green is listed at 6’7” and had legit D1 basketball interest coming out of Zachary. So much so that he’s even on Matt McMahon’s roster for the upcoming 2024-25 hoops season. It’ll probably be hard to balance the two, but I hope he can pull it off. College athletics needs more two-sport players so here’s hoping Green can do both.

It was reported Tuesday afternoon that rising sophomore Mac Markway is leaving the LSU football program and it sounds like Brian Kelly’s not quite sure what’s next for him.