Incumbent starters:
Junior Ainias Smith (5-foot-10, 190 pounds; 43 catches, 564 yards, 6 TD; 49 carries, 293 yards, 4 TD rushing in 10 games in 2020)
Redshirt sophomore Chase Lane (6 foot, 190 pounds; 29 catches, 409 yards, 2 TD in 10 games)
Redshirt senior Hezekiah Jones (6 foot, 180 pounds; 18 catches, 178 yards in 6 games)
Spring participants:
Redshirt junior Jalen Preston (6-foot-2, 215 pounds; 7 catches, 74 yards in 10 games)
Redshirt freshman Demond Demas (6-foot-3, 180 pounds; no catches in 4 games)
Sophomore Devin Price (6-foot-3, 205 pounds; no catches in 5 games)
Redshirt freshman Moose Muhammad (6-foot-1, 195 pounds; no catches in 3 games)
Redshirt sophomore Kenyon Jackson (6-foot-6, 200 pounds; no catches in 1 game)
Summer additions:
Redshirt junior Caleb Chapman (6-foot-5, 195 pounds; 14 catches, 197 yards, 3 TD in 3 games; sat out spring practice while continuing to recover from ACL surgery)
Freshman Yulkeith Brown (5-foot-9, 180 pounds; 4-star signee in the 2021 class)
It's not very often when you get all three starting receivers back from a major bowl win and have things wide open competition the next year, but here we are. The only certainty amongst the starters is the versatile Smith, who has become one of the most effective weapons in college football. With increased depth at running back, odds are he'll spend more (if not all) of his time at receiver.
Jones was a steady influence when the Aggies desperately needed one last year, but has never averaged more than 10 yards a catch in his A&M career. Lane was one of the pleasant surprises of last season, but, like Jones, he's going to have to ward off serious competition to keep his starting job.
If healthy, Chapman will play a lot -- he looked like he was on the verge of becoming a bigtime contributor before he got hurt. And then there's Demas, the former 5-star with size and explosive speed who coach Jimbo Fisher said had an excellent spring. If the hype is true, it's hard to imagine he won't be on the field a significant amount. And even though other receivers got the attention, it was Preston who won the award as the most improved offensive player in spring practice, possibly putting him back into the competition.
Jackson is the tallest receiver at 6-foot-6 and could be on a course similar to Chapman's, where it just takes more time for him to adjust before breaking out. Both Muhammad and Price looked very good in the spring game, helping their respective causes.
The Aggies only used three receivers down the stretch, with Demas being a seldom-used fourth in the Tennessee game and the Orange Bowl. If everyone remains healthy, that won't be the case this year. The Aggies could have a fairly deep rotation that is much more effective than the 2020 edition was.