Top 3 Biletnikoff Award Best Bets For 2024
Who will take home the award for best wide receiver in college football?
Matthew Horner - Jul 26, 2024, 3:10pm EDT
Luther Burden lll, Missouri (+400, BetRivers)
Make no mistake about it; the Tigers should be a playoff team this season. If they had the expanded playoff last year, they would have made it, and they have the most returning talent of any team in the SEC. That includes uber-explosive WR Luther Burden lll, who is a complete game-changer for Mizzou. He's the best wideout in college in my opinion, with the size, speed, and jumping ability to make every play you can think of.
You always have to take into account who is throwing him the ball as well, and QB Brady Cook returns for 2024 as well. While he doesn't get the love that some other superstar signal-callers get, he was fantastic last season. He hit 66% of his passes and was the second-leading rusher on his team, showing he can get it done both ways. He now has two years of starting under his belt, so I expect him to be even better.
This is an offense that averaged 434 yards and 32.5 points per game last season. I think they have a chance to be even better in 2024, and Burden will be a key part of that.
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State (+750, DraftKings)
Maybe this has flown under the radar a little bit, but Chip Kelly is now going to be in charge of this offense. Yes, I know he failed in the NFL, but he did manage to make UCLA somewhat relevant again. Now, he is back in charge of serious offensive talent again at the college level, unlike anything he has seen since he was at Oregon. I don't expect it to be as quick and explosive as his Ducks teams, but it is going to be fast, you can count on that.
Egbuka will now be getting all the attention for opposing defenses, as Marvin Harrison Jr. is now an Arizona Cardinal. He has No. 1 ability and NFL talent, there is no question about that, but the guy really needs to stay healthy. That has been his biggest issue by far. He caught 41 passes for 515 yards and four touchdowns last season, but he will need to step up even more.
QB Kyle McCord is gone, who got a lot of hate last season, but he actually wasn't that bad. He wasn't C.J. Stroud or Justin Fields, but he wasn't the reason they weren't up to standard last year. Now, Will Howard will take over, a veteran transfer from Kansas State who has thrown for 5,786 yards and 48 TD's in four seasons. He's got plenty of experience and comes from a winning program, and can ignite this offense quickly.
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona (+900, DraftKings)
The Wildcats are not a team that has had a ton of success in college football, so they get ignored quite a lot when it comes to national television, so you may have never heard of anyone on their roster. They are loaded with talent, however, and went 10-3 last season. They could have been 13-0, and had all three of their opponents they lost to on the ropes. Now, they have a new head coach in Brent Brennan, who somehow was able to succeed at San Jose State. That is hard to do, and you have to be a pretty good coach to do so.
There is a good chance that you have never even heard of McMillan, but you are about to. The Arizona standout is a beast and a special talent at the position. He's 6-5 and averaged close to 16 yards per catch in 2023, finishing with 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 TDs. Dino Babers is the new offensive coordinator, and I think he was a really good hire to lead this offense.
QB Noah Fifita took over as starter, and he almost beat Washington and USC last season. He isn't a runner, but he proved to be a tremendous passer, hitting 72% of his throws and rarely turning the ball over. I expect him to be even better this season with a ton of returning talent and a year of experience.