LSU Football: Who will be the starting wide receivers for the Tigers in 2021?

LSU football has a ridiculous amount of wide receiver talent on the roster.

That’s a good thing, of course. But it also means that Ed Orgeron and his offensive staff have a lot of hard decisions to make in the coming weeks.

Who will start at wide receiver for the Tigers? Which young players will see significant playing time?

And how many true freshmen wide receivers will LSU try to redshirt?

LSU football has a lot of unproven wide receiver talent

We know for sure that sophomore Kayshon Boutte will be the Tigers’ No. 1 wide receiver in 2021.

Boutte looks like the next Ja’Marr Chase.

The Louisiana native had a strong true freshman season, catching 45 passes for 735 yards and five touchdowns (those are better numbers than what Chase and Justin Jefferson put up as true freshmen).

Boutte’s coming-out game came against Ole Miss when the former five-star recruit caught 14 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns (the 308 receiving yards are a single-game LSU record).

With Boutte entrenched as the No. 1 wide receiver, it would make sense for LSU to go with experience at the No. 2 and No. 3 wide receiver positions. That would likely mean senior Jontre Kirklin and junior Jaray Jenkins.

Kirklin caught 13 passes for 184 yards last season, while Jenkins caught 23 passes for 397 yards. I think Jenkins makes sense as the No. 2 wide receiver, thanks to his great hands and outstanding route-running ability.

So who gets the No. 4 wide receiver spot?

Well, I think we’ll see quite a few players rotate into that spot. Primarily, though, I think it will be either sophomore Koy Moore or junior Trey Palmer.

Moore’s had a solid camp so far. And I think he’s a more consistent option. But Palmer is a big play waiting to happen, thanks to his above-average speed.

Along with Moore and Palmer, I think we’ll see some of the younger guys rotate in as well. Brian Thomas Jr, Chris Hilton, Deion Smith, and Malik Nabors should see some significant playing time in 2021. But at least a couple of those guys will redshirt this season. There simply isn’t enough playing time to go around. And Orgeron doesn’t want to get in a spot where he’s ruining chemistry with wide receivers and starting quarterback Max Johnson by constantly switching out players.

Regardless of who plays, it’s clear the Tigers have an embarrassment of riches at the wide receiver position.

There’s a reason I believe LSU is the real “WRU”.