Wisconsin Wide Receiver Room Season Outlook & Player Expectations

A quick look at the Wisconsin football wide receiver room heading into fall camp and analyzing their individual expectations for the season.

With fall camp just around the corner for new head coach Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program — BadgerNotes continues our rollout of position previews. We’ve already done QB and RB thus far. 

But I want our position previews and season outlook write-ups to be different than a regurgitated version of what every outlet is putting out. 

I want to approach this breakdown by establishing individual player expectations heading into the season so we can more effectively evaluate each player at the end of the season—that way, we can avoid being a prisoner of the moment. 

So, let’s review the breakdown of how we define player expectations:

• No expectations (walk-ons, true freshmen, practice bodies).

• Low expectations (roster fillers, third team players, next man up situation).

• Moderate expectations (key backups & role players *how well are you playing the role asked of you).

• High expectations (core players of the team you expect to make a big impact in their role or statistically). 

Let’s continue our series with the Wisconsin football wide receiver room. 

High Expectations 

• Chimere Dike (SR)

• Bryson Green (RS JR)

• Will Pauling (RS SO)

I’m placing Chimere Dike, Bryson Green, and Will Pauling in our high-expectations group because that’s the trio I anticipate will leave fall camp as the starters and log the most snaps in 2023.

Dike finished last season with 47 catches for 689 yards and six touchdowns en route to honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. He’s a steady possession receiver that runs good routes and is my pick to be the team’s leader in receiving yards. Dike might not be the highest upside of the bunch — but his game is well-rounded.

Although Green missed spring practice, I still see him as a first-team player on offense. He’s coming off a great season with Oklahoma State, where he caught 36 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns in nine games. Green and Dike should complement each other nicely on the boundary.

Finally, Pauling, the standout WR during spring ball, enters as the favorite to start in the slot and get peppered with targets in Phil Longo’s offense. As a redshirt freshman, he caught 12 passes for 122 yards with Cincinnati but is someone I anticipate will be at or near the top of the leaderboard in catches. Pauling’s shiftiness in the slot will make him a dynamic weapon for Wisconsin football this fall.

To meet expectations, Dike, Green, and Pauling need to lead the Badgers in WR snaps and be the most frequently targeted pass-catchers.

Wisconsin WRs With Moderate Expectations

• CJ Williams (SO)

• Skyler Bell (RS SO)

• Keontez Lewis (JR)

In the moderate expectations group, I’ve got the trio of USC transfer CJ Williams, Skyler Bell, and Keontez Lewis, who should all see plenty of snaps for Wisconsin football this fall.