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Quarterbacks and receivers are always linked together for the obvious reason — a receiver is nothing without someone to throw him the ball, and a quarterback is nothing without capable pass-catchers. A team’s quarterback and its top receiver go together like peanut butter and jelly, like fat kids and cake, like… well, you get the picture.
But what if we had the power to hand-select our own quarterback-receiver tandems in the SEC? You could take any quarterback from the conference, and you could then find any receiver in the SEC to pair with him. There are thousands of possibilities just within the SEC, but which combination would be the most lethal?
As we do every week, we posed this hypothetical to our SDS staff members to get a gauge on which quarterbacks and receivers they’re high on. There was plenty of variety this week, so check out the responses below.
WHICH SEC QB AND WR FORM YOUR DREAM 2015 TANDEM AND WHY?
Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): QB: Dak Prescott; WR: Laquon Treadwell
I give the Ole Miss pass-catcher a slight edge over Auburn’s Duke Williams because I’ve seen the Tigers’ deep threat struggle with drops. Treadwell’s more reliable and is a comparable field-stretcher like his West Division rival on the Plains. Prescott is, without question, the SEC’s best quarterback heading into August. He’s developed into a guy who can make every throw and has personally exceeded my expectations for him after I watched him throw three interceptions during a loss at South Carolina during the 2013 season.
Brett Weisband (@WeisbandSDS): QB: Joshua Dobbs; WR: Pharoh Cooper
Having a quarterback who can take off with the ball is a huge advantage, and Dobbs has the smarts to know when to move around in the pocket and when to take off. Pairing him with the most versatile receiver in the SEC is a no-brainer. Cooper can get open on any type of route, and he can even step into the backfield and line up next to Dobbs — or without him — as a threat to run or pass. There might be better pure receivers and passers in the conference, but I’ll take this Swiss Army pairing any day.
Jon Cooper (@JonSDS): QB: Jeremy Johnson (Auburn); WR: D’haquille Williams (Auburn)
Give me a quarterback-wide receiver combo, and I’m taking Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson and receiver Duke Williams. Johnson is due for a major breakout season in Gus Malzahn’s offense, and he has perhaps the best receiver in the league in Williams. Williams is an Alshon Jeffery-type receiver, and assuming he stays healthy this season, he and Johnson could put up some incredible numbers.
Ethan Levine (@EthanLevineSDS): QB: Dak Prescott (Miss. St.); WR: Pharoh Cooper (South Carolina)
My hand-picked tandem is predicated on versatility. Prescott was not just the first-team All-SEC quarterback last season, but he’s also the SEC’s best dual-threat weapon. He threw for 3,000 yards last year and threw for at least 250 yards in six of nine games against power conference foes. He also led MSU in rushing two years ago in only seven starts, and ran for more than 950 yards last year in an encore performance. Pair him with Cooper, who can torch defenses on the perimeter, in the slot, out of the backfield and even as a passer himself, and you’ve got a devastating tandem. Picture the reverses to Cooper, the throw-backs to Prescott on trick plays, and the deception and misdirection my offense could employ on every snap. It’d look like backyard football using world-class athletes. Would it win games? I’m not entirely sure. But would my team draw television ratings? You better believe it.
Christopher Smith (@CSmithSDS): QB: Jeremy Johnson (Auburn); WR: De’Runnya Wilson (Miss. St.)
I’m tempted to just say Pharoh Cooper. As the quarterback and the receiver. That would be entertaining, right? Instead, I’ll lift Wilson and pair him with Johnson. No offense to Dak Prescott, who is a terrific SEC quarterback. But I’d love to see 6-foot-5, 240-pound Jeremy Johnson throw to 6-foot-5, 225-pound De’Runnya Wilson. Johnson has a cannon for an arm, Wilson can jump out of the gym — he was primarily a basketball player in high school — and that combination together would do wonders within coach Gus Malzahn’s offense. Call it the all-athlete duo, or the duo with the highest ceiling. Who knows if either of these players reach their maximum potential at their respective schools. But it sure would be fun to watch.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
