The skill position players dominate the college football spotlight on an annual basis for obvious reason. They are the quarterbacks leading the way, the running backs breaking big runs for touchdowns, the wide receivers making highlight-reel catches or the tight ends doing just a little bit of everything to make a name for themselves. We took the time to break down the best of the best as we continue to build what we feel will be the ideal college football lineup for this season. Here is a look at the choices for our optimal college football lineup at the skill positions.
QB: Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Junior)
All Watson did last season was become the first quarterback in FBS history to throw for more than 4,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. Now he gets the opportunity to deliver an encore performance and all eyes will be on him to see what he has in store for his junior season. Watson recorded 5,209 total yards of offense for Clemson last season with a total of 47 touchdowns. That included 478 yards of offense and four touchdowns against Alabama in the National Championship Game. Watson enters this season with another year of experience and another year removed from major knee surgery that in no way slowed him down last season. The potential is there for Watson to be just as dominant in 2016 and that is the biggest reason why the Tigers are once again a national title favorite.
RB: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Junior)
The temptation was there to take LSU running back Leonard Fournette in this spot but we opted for McCaffrey instead based on what we saw over the entire course of last season. McCaffrey did everything for the Cardinal from the running back position as he rushed for a school-record 2,019 yards while adding 45 catches for 645 yards as a receiver. The rushing and receiving accounted for the bulk of McCaffrey’s FBS-record 3,864 all-purpose yards with the remainder coming off of punt and kick returns. The junior back can line up all over the field and he is a home run threat to take it the distance every time he touches the ball. Stanford will be breaking in a new quarterback this season so look for the Cardinal to lean on McCaffrey just as much as they did a year ago when he led them to a Pac-12 title.
WR: Juju Smith-Schuster, USC (Junior)
Smith-Schuster was on the receiving end of 30.8-percent of the Trojans’ pass attempts last season and he caught 65.9-percent of those targets. Smith-Schuster finished the year with 89 catches for 1,454 yards and 10 touchdowns and was the only receiver in the FBS last season to finish in the top half of all receivers in target rate, catch rate, yards per catch and yards per target. The fact that he did all that despite having surgery to repair a broken hand in early November is testament to his outstanding ability with a very good chance he tops those numbers this season.
WR: Mike Williams, Clemson (Junior)
Williams had his sophomore season cut short because of a scary neck injury in the first game of the season for Clemson a year ago but he is back at full strength now and the expectation is that he will dominate in 2016. Williams has outstanding hands and speed as well as the ability to outleap opposing coverage to make big plays. Williams spent an entire year rehabbing and preparing for his junior year and he will be aiming for a measure of redemption on the football field this season.
TE: Jaylen Samuels, North Carolina State (Junior)
Samuels is the perfect fit for our offense because of his versatility and big-play ability. He is listed as a full back/tight end hybrid for the Wolfpack but what matters to us is that he led the team with 16 touchdowns a year ago including seven as a receiver and nine as a ball carrier. Samuels’ 65 catches were the most by any FBS tight end in 2015 and the fact that he was able to contribute on the ground as well made him that much more intriguing of a player to line up as our final skill position spot.
