Notre Dame football: Who will be the WR1 in 2021?

WR1: Braden Lenzy

Braden Lenzy needs to be WR #1 in 2021. He needed to be WR #1 in 2020, too, but injuries and circumstances derailed any hopes of that. In turn, that derailed Notre Dame’s passing game for the entire season. That can’t happen again.

Lenzy was the golden boy, expected to do great things with a veteran quarterback who had put up massive numbers with Chase Claypool the year before. After flashing great talent and blazing speed, it only made sense that Lenzy would be the next man up. Then the hamstring injuries came, which hampered him all season long.

He missed several games in a shortened season while being limited in others. Quickly, the offense needed to find options beyond Lenzy, and they did the best they could otherwise.

Lenzy became a forgotten, whispered as a bust, only catch seven passes for 63 yards with one touchdown.

2021 needs to see Lenzy be healthy and hit his stride as a receiving threat. His speed is killer, which the Irish desperately need. As a legitimate deep threat, safeties need to respect him and play further off the line of scrimmage, and this opens the box to throw crossing routes to Mayer or run with Williams.

When the defense cheats up to stop the paper cuts underneath, then you hit them over the top and produce the explosive plays you need and were lacking in 2020. Braden Lenzy isn’t just WR #1 in 2021, he’s the player the offense needs to step up and play to his potential the most.