Alabama Football: Will Tide shuffle wide receiver deck again?

Every Alabama football fan is aware that as a group, the Crimson Tide’s 2022 wide receivers have been found lacking. A running back, Jahmyr Gibbs has caught the most passes, with 14 catches. The most productive Crimson Tide receiver has been Traeshon Holden with 12 receptions. Holden is the only Alabama football player averaging over 50 yards per game in receiving yards, at just 56.3 yards per game.

Freshman, slot receiver Kobe Prentice has looked good at times. But he has only seven catches for a total of 79 yards.

Searching for reasons why the Tide’s passing game has not progressed, many Tide fans blame the schemes or the play-calling of Bill O’Brien. Others say the 2022 roster does not have the explosive speed to be a consistent deep ball threat. Bryce Young, having made a few bad throws is also blamed.

The reality is more nuanced than can be seen from outside the Alabama football staff. What fans do know is the 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide must have a more productive passing attack to be a championship contender.

Alabama Football and Wide Receiver Continuity

Nick Saban, Bill O’Brien and Holman Wiggins have a dilemma. The chemistry and timing between a quarterback and his receivers must be built through repetition. Without continuity in the Tide’s primary wide receiver core, chemistry and timing is challenging.

One reason for the lack of continuity has been injuries. JoJo Earle, Tyler Harrell, Aaron Anderson and Isaiah Bond have all dealt with injuries. Bond is back, but he missed valuable time in fall camp. The other three are nearing a return. There is optimism Earle and Harrell could be available for the Arkansas game.

Meaning no offense to Vanderbilt, Saturday night is key to the Crimson Tide offense being ready for the Razorbacks. It is a bit early to draw firm conclusions from stats, but Arkansas is the SEC leader in defensive sacks per game. Bryce Young may need his receivers to create separation quickly against the Hogs. An interesting contrast is Arkansas is last among SEC teams in giving up passing yards at a whopping 353.7 yards per game.

Vanderbilt is No. 13 in the SEC for the same passing defense stat, at 274 yards per game.

Alabama football insiders argue the Crimson Tide has no deficiency of talent among its wide receivers. However, something, at least so far, is missing. Saturday night it will be interesting to see which Tide players get the most first-half targets – and more importantly, who, other than Traeshon Holden will deliver.

As a point of reference, per cfbstats.com, last season Alabama was No. 1 among SEC teams in pass completions of 40-plus yards. So far this season, the Crimson Tide is No. 12.