Over the past few months we have gone through each NC State football position group, using analytics provided by PFF to help explain what went right and wrong during the 2019 season.
Now it's time to rank the Wolfpack by position group heading into next season in our positional power rankings:
5. Wide Receiver
Related link: The Wolfpacker 3-2-1 on receivers
Make no mistake, the wide receiving corps did not have the type of season they were hoping for in 2019. The highest mark according to PFF of a full-time receiver was senior Emeka Emezie's 61.4, which ranked No. 399 nationally among the 590 receivers with at least 20 receiving targets a season ago.
Drops plagued the unit during the year, and yards after the catch were fairly limited.
So why are they ranked in the top five? Because there is potential to make considerable improvement.
Emezie is a proven ACC wideout and still caught 56 passes for 576 yards and two scores despite having by his own admission a season that fell short of his expectations. Redshirt freshman Devin Carter had 32 catches for 456 yards in his first full stint of action.
Redshirt junior slot receiver Thayer Thomas battled injuries to have 31 catches for 334 yards and three scores, and sophomore Keyon Lesane added 13 receptions for 93 yards in the slot. Lesane mainly caught short passes, and he averaged 7.4 yards after the catch, the highest mark on the team and tied for 88th nationally among the 590 qualified receivers with at least 20 targets.
Help is on the way in a hopefully healthy fifth-year senior C.J. Riley, who caught 28 passes for 315 yards and two scores in a reserve role in 2018 before tearing his ACL in the season opener last fall. Four-star, Rivals250 signee Porter Rooks also was on campus this spring until the coronavirus struck and could make an immediate impact.
