With scoring leaders gone, new receivers must emerge. Can Faison and Greathouse anchor a revamped Notre Dame pass attack for a more balanced offense?
Notre Dame put its most explosive and productive scoring offense in modern history on the field in 2025, but the drivers of that success are gone. The Irish will look a bit different in 2026, but expectations are that even more balance will be desired, and the pass attack will become a greater focal point of the offense.
If that is going to happen the wide receivers will have to play at a high level. The unit will have some returning faces, but the depth chart will look a lot different in 2026. How well that unit performs will determine just how good the offense will be.
Let's continue our depth chart breakdown with a look at the receivers.
PROJECTED WR DEPTH CHART
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Jordan Faison: 2025 - 49 rec, 640 yards, 13.1 YPC, 4 TD / 2024 - 30 rec, 356 yards, 11.9 YPC, 1 TD / 2023 - 19 rec, 322 yards, 16.9 YPC, 4 TD
Jaden Greathouse: 2025 - 4 rec, 73 yards, 18.3 YPC, 0 TD / 2024 - 42 rec, 592 yards, 14.1 YPC, 4 TD / 2023 - 18 rec, 265 yards, 14.7 YPC, 5 TD
Micah Gilbert: 2025 - 9 rec, 93 yards, 10.3 YPC, 1 TD
Mylan Graham: 2025 - 6 rec, 93 yards, 15.5 YPC, 0 TD
Quincy Porter: 2025 - 4 rec, 59 yards, 14.8 YPC, 0 TD
Elijah Burress: 2025 - 3 rec, 21 yards, 7.0 YPC, 0 TD
Matt Jeffery: 2025 - 1 rec, 37 yards, 37.0 YPC, 0 TD
Cam Williams: 2025 - 1 rec, 6 yards, 6.0 YPC, 0 TD
Jerome Bettis Jr: 2025 - 1 rec, 6 yards, 6.0 YPC, 0 TD
Logan Saldate: 2025 - 1 rec, 2 yards, 2.0 YPC, 0 TD
TOTAL: 189 rec, 2565 yards, 13.6 YPC, 19 TD
WHAT WAS LOST
His production wasn't what was expected, but make no mistake, Malachi Fields had an outstanding season for Notre Dame in 2025. His production was a byproduct of the offense being built around the running backs and also defenses focusing a lot of their pass game attention on slowing him down. But Fields was a clutch player for Notre Dame, stepping up in key moments. Fields had 20 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns in five games against ranked opponents, and just 16 catches for 300 yards and three scores in the other seven games. On top of good production, Fields' ability to win contested catches and make clutch plays in key moments will have to be replaced.
Notre Dame also must replace Will Pauling and his 26 catches, 381 yards and six touchdowns from the slot. Pauling was a solid player for Notre Dame, but his production was largely system driven, which should make the production easier to replace.
VETERANS PROVIDE STRONG FOUNDATION
Despite the key personnel losses, Notre Dame does replace good production thanks to the return of Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse. Faison was Notre Dame's most productive pass catcher in 2025 and Greathouse led the team in 2024. That duo has combined for 162 career catches, 2,248 career receiving yards and 18 receiving touchdowns.
Faison has spent the last two seasons as the team's starting X receiver, and after an injury plagued sophomore campaign he had a breakout in 2025. Faison led the Irish in catches and receiving yards last season. He showed improvement as a route runner and pass catcher last season despite a lack of ideal size for the position. Faison continued being impactful after the catch, ranking 13th in the country in missed tackles forced (19) according to Pro Football Focus.
For perspective, consider that Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch finished the season with 20 and Makai Lemon of USC finished with 21. Branch caught 81 passes while Lemon caught 79, but Faison caught just 49 passes. In fact, the lowest number of catches of the players that ranked ahead of him was 58. To add to his impact, Faison was a chain-moving machine, with 73.5-percent of his catches resulting in first downs.
For context, here is the first down success rate for other top receivers:
Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana - 63.8%
Makai Lemon, USC - 63.3%
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State - 63.2%
Mario Craver, Texas A&M - 57.6%
Malachi Toney, Miami - 53.2%
Zechariah Branch, Georgia - 49.3%
Faison's first down percentage per target was 57.1-percent, which means his rate was higher per target than Toney and Branch were on catches. That means his first down rate per target is closer to anyone on this list's first down rate for catch than anyone on this list is to his first down per catch rate.
Greathouse had similarly impressive numbers in 2024. His completion rate when targeted (79.2%) and contested catch rate (84.6%) were better than Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State), Jaylon Noel (Iowa State), Eric Singleton (Auburn), Antonio Williams (Clemson), Germie Bernard (Alabama) and Aaron Anderson (LSU) back in 2024. Greathouse also had a 59.5-percent first down success rate in 2024 as well.
If Greathouse can stay healthy and return to his 2024 form, and Faison can keep doing what he did last season, the duo will serve as an outstanding foundation to build the offense around.
LAST CHANCE FOR AN IMPACT?
Notre Dame's 2024 recruiting class was supposed to add impact production to the offense, but it has yet to materialize. With the arrival of two talented portal players and five talented freshmen, the 2024 class could be facing its last opportunity to earn a key role in the offense.
Micah Gilbert is the most likely member of the class to earn a spot this season due to his past performance. Gilbert played 115 snaps over nine games last season, but he's struggled to stay healthy and perform consistently in his first two seasons. Gilbert has good size, a strong all-around athletic profile and he has the potential to be a starter in the boundary, but he'll need to make a jump this offseason. The tools are there, but he needs to support that with consistent production. If he steps up the boundary should be a strength, but if he doesn't step up the position is a question mark.
There might not be a more physically gifted wide receiver on the roster than Cam Williams, which makes his lack of playing time all the more puzzling. There's no debating whether or not Williams has the physical tools to be an impact player at Notre Dame .... he absolutely does. The question is whether or not he's willing to put in the work this offseason to grow his game, earn the trust of the coaches and force his way onto the field.
A case could be made that no breakout on offense could have a bigger impact than one from Williams. His size, elite athleticism and speed are rare, but those traits aren't all you need to be a productive wideout on a team trying to win a title. It would behoove the Notre Dame coaches to also spend some extra time this offseason trying their best to get the most out of Williams. If it doesn't work out it doesn't work out, but it would be a major missed opportunity to not at least invest in that project this offseason.
Classmate Logan Saldate is another quality athlete that has struggled to find a role in the offense. Saldate will get a legitimate chance to earn the No. 2 slot role this offseason, but he'll need to perform well in order to hold off the talented younger players. Notre Dame could also move Faison inside when they need someone to spell Faison, or if they want to move their receivers around more, so Saldate needs a strong offseason to earn that role.
SOPHOMORE CLASS WILL GET A SHOT
Notre Dame's sophomore class has been a bit overlooked this offseason thanks to the arrival of the seven newcomers and the hope that the 2024 class finally steps up. Sophomore Elijah Burress is an example of that, with much of the focus this offseason being on the return of Greathouse, the arrival of the transfers and freshman class, and the hope for the 2024 class finally stepping up. But Burress is a talented player in his own right, and the Irish staff has been high on his talent since he arrived a year ago.
Burress is a dynamic route runner and his game fits very well into the Mike Denbrock offense. His ball skills in high school were impressive and his athletic skillset is quite good. Burress struggled with consistent executing his assignments last season, but if he can overcome that and add weight room strength he could be a surprise breakout player for the Irish offense.
Classmates Matt Jeffery and Jerome Bettis Jr. will get a shot to compete this spring as well, with Bettis completing in the boundary and Jeffery adding experience playing in the slot. Jeffery is an impressive athlete, but with him splitting time between lacrosse and football this spring he runs the risk of being passed up by the newcomers.
PORTAL CLASS CHANGES THINGS
Notre Dame didn't necessarily "need" anyone from the portal, but it was obvious the staff wanted to add some impact talent from the portal. Notre Dame went all in to land former Ohio State wide receivers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham, two players the Irish tried and failed to land out of high school. Ohio State worked hard to keep both players, and Notre Dame landing them provides a massive boost in talent.
Porter was considered the heir apparent to Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, but now he'll compete to step into the void that was created when Fields exhausted his eligibility. He has the size (6-4), vertical speed and contested catch skills to thrive in the Boundary (W) position. Porter only caught four passes as a freshman at Ohio State, but he has the talent to have the kind of sophomore breakout we saw from past Irish players like Golden Tate, Will Fuller and Equanimeous St. Brown.
The question with Porter is health, as he missed the final four games of the season with a knee injury. We don't know a whole lot about how much time he'll miss, but the expectation is that he won't do much, if anything, this spring. Porter will be able to learn the offense and get in mental work, which will be important if he's going to make up ground in the summer and fall.
Graham is more of a field receiver (X) that possesses the athletic skill, length and route running tools that Notre Dame desires at the position. Prior to going into the portal, the expectation was that he would step into the starting lineup for the Buckeyes, replacing Carnell Tate. Now he'll push to earn a key role in the Notre Dame receiving corps.
Graham has excellent foot quickness and his route running potential is elite. He was a weapon after the catch in high school, and if he can force his way onto the field for Notre Dame he could be part of a very impressive three-man field rotation with Faison and Greathouse.
FRESHMAN CLASS IS STRONG
If not for the arrival of the transfers, there was a legit chance that the freshman class would be able to force their way onto the field. That will be harder now, but this class is talented and deep. Kaydon Finley is the crown jewel from the class, and his size, playmaking ability and potential to play all three receiver spots could make him hard to keep off the field. One thing is for sure, if Finley is behind you on the depth chart you will not want to miss any time, because when you return the spot may belong to someone else.
Bubba Frazier and Brayden Robinson make up for a lack of size with dynamic playmaking skills, speed and after-the-catch traits. Devin Fitzgerald had a breakout senior season and his game fits well into the Notre Dame boundary position. Dylan Faison will be playing lacrosse this spring, but he is a player the Irish football coaches are also excited about.
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