Michigan Football: Do Wolverines have No. 1 wide receiver?

The Michigan football team is loaded at the wide receiver position, but do the Wolverines have a true No. 1? 

Michigan football has one of its most talented wide receiver rooms in recent memory. Cornelius Johnson, AJ Henning, Roman Wilson, and Cristian Dixon were all four-star receivers.

In the 2022 recruiting class, Michigan signed four-stars Darrius Clemons and Tyler Morris as well as the high ceiling three-star Amorion Walker.

Despite all of that talent, no Michigan receiver exceeded 40 receptions or 650 receiving yards last season.

Michigan football didn’t always need an explosive passing given how dominant its running game was last season. However, there were times when Michigan could have used an alpha that emerged as a true No.1 receiver.

The kind of player that the defense knows is getting the ball but still can’t stop it. Does Michigan have that player on the roster? Let’s look at the candidates.

Ronnie Bell

If the answer to that question is yes, that player is likely Ronnie Bell based on what we have seen so far. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, he shared targets with Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who are both making their hay on Sundays now.

Bell got off to a fast start in the season opener against Western Michigan with a 76-yard touchdown catch. Unfortunately, that would be his only catch of the season as he suffered a knee injury on a punt return that cost him the rest of the season.

Cade McNamara or J.J. McCarthy will love having the dependable Bell to throw to again. He has a knack for getting open, particularly on third downs. His ability to play in the slot or on the outside gives Michigan some options for how it wants to deploy its other receivers.

Bell will have a full 12 months to heal before Michigan football’s season opener. U-M will have the ability to ease him back into the lineup while he gets back up to game speed because of the depth.

However, Bell will want to hit the ground running given the competitor he is. He will look to cap off his career with a strong season before heading off to the NFL. He has 83 receptions for 1,380 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his career.