2027 Watchlist Check-In: Wide Receivers

This offseason, we're taking a look at some of the players sitting just outside our rankings. Our watchlist check-in series looks at those players who often just need an opportunity. These rising juniors have been injured, stuck behind others on the depth chart, or just don't quite have enough varsity film to be ranked. But they're close, and many will enter the rankings this year.    Killiebrew is used as a Swiss Army Knife for Riverside Martin, as the coaching staff does whatever they can to take advantage of the shifty slot receiver's skillset. Killiebrew often does his damage after the catch and on little pitches and screens. Obviously, we'd like to see him put on some weight, but he's difficult to bring down and does plenty of damage at his current size.     Whether he's a receiver, blocker, or special teamer, Willoughby is always playing at 100% speed. He has one gear and it's all-out effort. That allows him to sell his routes well, as defenders think he's going deep every route, before he throttles down and makes his breaks. That route stemming ability allows him to get open over and over. We're impressed with the small-school product and think he could have a huge junior season.     Though he's on the smaller side, Garner has a ton of wiggle as a runner, and he's able to escape tackles that even bigger players struggle to break. He does a little bit of everything for Eastern Alamance, playing running back, receiver, special teams, and even the occasional defensive back. Garner is more explosive than the testing numbers suggest and he's another guy who could have a big junior season.     After transferring in from Rolesville, Martin had a solid first season with Southeast Raleigh, catching 16 passes for 251 yards as a sophomore. He doesn't have a ton of film, but he's a solid athlete and should have the upside to have a big junior year, thanks to good route-running and speed.     Sanford can really run, and that shows up on tape. He typically gets the ball moving laterally on bubbles and jet sweeps, but he's able to turn upfield and get positive yardage. The next step for Sanford is to get more consistent down the field, because if he can do that, he's going to be difficult to stop.     Archible has good size and great speed, but didn't get many opportunities behind some other talented receivers. As a junior, he'll look to parlay his athleticism into a bigger role for Garner. If he can get on the field a bit more, we expect him to have a big junior season, with strong numbers to follow.     Despite being undersized for an in-line tight end, Latimore did a lot of the dirty work for Cox Mill. He also caught a few passes as well, performing well as a safety blanket. We expect him to put up some bigger numbers as a pass-catcher as a junior, as he has the height and length to make big plays in the passing game.

This offseason, we're taking a look at some of the players sitting just outside our rankings. Our watchlist check-in series looks at those players who often just need an opportunity. These rising juniors have been injured, stuck behind others on the depth chart, or just don't quite have enough varsity film to be ranked. But they're close, and many will enter the rankings this year.