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Pac-12 Pre-Season Unit Rankings: Receivers & Tight Ends

USC, Oregon State and Washington have the most dangerous receiving units going into the season.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1. USC (WR Marqise Lee, WR Nelson Agholar, WR De'Von Flourney, TE Xavier Grimble, TE Randall Telfer)

Simply having Lee could put the Trojans here, but it helps that they also have one of the best emerging young receivers in the conference in Agholar and a great pass-catching tight end like Grimble along with Telfer, who isn't used much but effective.

2. Oregon State (WR Brandin Cooks, WR Kevin Cummings, WR Richard Mullaney, TE Connor Hamlett)

Cooks might be the fastest receiver in the conference now and quietly had more than 1,000 yards receiving last year. Cummings and Mullaney are unremarkable but could be solid possession receivers. Throw in Hamlett, who is another underrated player that had good numbers in 2012, and you have a great receiving corp.

3. Washington (WR Kasen Williams, WR DiAndre Campbell, WR Jaydon Mickens, TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins)

This one is top loaded with Seferian-Jenkins, who is probably the best tight end in the country and Williams, who along with Lee and Cooks, might be one of the few elite receivers in the conference. There's really no depth at all here as Campbell and Mickens have done very little, but there is no better one-two-punch in the Pac-12 right now than Williams and Seferian-Jenkins.

4. Oregon (WR Josh Huff, WR Keanon Lowe, WR Daryle Hawkins, TE Colt Lyerla)

When healthy, Huff might be the best receiver in the conference after Lee. Lowe and Hawkins aren't particularly dangerous, but Lyerla can fill a lot of that void as the most explosive tight end in the conference that you can even split out wide sometimes.

5. Washington State (WR Dominique Williams, WR Gabe Marks, WR Isiah Myers, WR Brett Bartalone, WR Bobby Ratliff)

This is probably the deepest group of any of the conference going into the season. There is no clear cut superstar, but Williams and Marks are guys who I could see being All-Pac-12 guys. Myers, Bartalone and Ratliff are superb secondary receivers too.

6. Colorado (WR Paul Richardson, WR Nelson Spruce, WR Tyler McCulloch, TE Kyle Slavin)

It might be surprising to see Colorado this high at any position, but the truth is that the Buffs have a decent group of receivers with Richardson coming back from injury. If healthy, Richardson is an All-Pac-12 guy and Spruce and McCulloch are reliable targets that put up good numbers last season.

7. Utah (WR Dres Anderson, WR Kenneth Scott, WR Anthony Denham, TE Jake Murphy)

Definitely no star here, but Anderson and Scott were solid receivers who a lot more will expected of next season than last. Murphy is an underrated tight end who actually is probably one of the five best in the conference.

8. Arizona State (WR Kevin Ozier, WR Alonzo Agwuenu, WR Richard Smith, TE Chris Coyle)

Not much at receiver here as Agwuenu and Smith haven't done much at all and Ozier is a big target that has had a little bit of production but is far from a go-to-guy. The big key here is Coyle, who is almost just like a big receiver playing tight end who is the best tight end in the conference after Seferian-Jenkins.

9. Cal (WR Chris Harper, WR Bryce Treggs, WR Kenny Lawler, TE Richard Rodgers)

The Bears' passing game really died when they lost Keenan Allen to injury last year, but Harper, Treggs and Lawler all have great raw skills and could team together to form a solid, young receiving group. Rodgers is a decent tight end target who could break out.

10. UCLA (WR Shaquelle Evans, WR Jordan Payton, WR Devin Fuller, TE Darius Bell)

Brett Hundley doesn't great targets to throw to this year. Evans might be the best receiver in the conference outside of that elite ring, but he is really all there is here.

11. Arizona (WR David Roberts, WR Tyler Slavin, WR Johnny Jackson, TE Terrence Miller)

The Wildcats took the biggest injury blow of any Pac-12 team this off-season when receiver Austin Hill went down with an ACL. Hill was the clear cut best receiver after Lee as he had more than 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving in 2012. With Hill out, the Wildcats are left with Roberts, who did a little bit in 2012 and a bunch of unproven players.

12. Stanford (WR Ty Montgomery, WR Devon Cajuste, WR Kodi Whitfield, TE Luke Kaumatule)

This is the Cardinal's Achilles heel. Montgomery is their best returning receiver and he didn't even catch a touchdown in 2012. The biggest question here though is at tight end where the Cardinal lose Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo and will rely on guys who yet to catch college passes.