High, Brown and Pantelis lead a group built around transfer QB Davis Warren, but questions linger about returns from injury and transitions to Power Four play.
There are plenty of questions about what this Stanford Cardinal offense will look like when the season kicks off on August 29 at home against Hawaii. One of those questions is bound to be who will be catching passes for Stanford.
Benji Blackburn looks to take over at tight end after excelling in a small sample size last season. Sam Roush heading to the Chicago Bears this fall opens up a huge opportunity for Blackburn to show that he can still perform consistently as the full-time tight end.
The receiving corps is a different story.
The Cardinal will be led by senior Caden High, redshirt junior Nico Brown, and sixth year David Pantelis — all of whom have the ability to become a focal point for transfer quarterback Davis Warren. Pantelis missed the entire 2025 season due to injury, while Brown is a transfer from Yale. Both have talent, along with some uncertainty baked in.
For Pantelis, the question is how he returns from injury, while Brown's biggest question will be how he makes the transition from playing in the Ivy League to the ACC.
High played in all 12 games and started five for the Cardinal last season, catching 37 passes for 414 yards with one touchdown. Back at South Carolina State in 2024, High had 63 catches for 935 yards, so he has been a big piece of the receiving game in the past.
Brown spent his first three seasons at Yale, appearing in just four games total across his first two years. In 2025 he started in all 10 games he played in, hauling in 71 catches for 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Pantelis spent four seasons at Yale before transferring to Stanford for the 2025 campaign, which he missed. In 2024 he started all 10 games he played and caught 61 passes for 901 yards and eight touchdowns.
Behind those three, there are plenty of question marks about how the depth chart will shake out.
Tier 2
JonAnthony Hall, a redshirt freshman, is another receiver who could be primed for playing time. He spent most of his first season on The Farm injured alongside Pantelis, but he came in as the No. 1 WR recruit out of Indiana, a four-star prospect, and a unanimous top-50 wide receiver recruit by 247Sports, On3 and ESPN.
The talent is there — it's just a matter of getting him on the field to show off that talent.
Zion Robinson is a four-star freshman and was ranked as the No. 16 WR prospect in the nation by ESPN.
Tier 3
Redshirt junior Carter Shaw heads to Stanford after three seasons at UCLA, where he totaled two catches for 45 yards (15 games).
Redshirt juniors Jordan Onovughe and Tyler Kuo offer limited upside. Kuo appeared in six games without recording stats; Onovughe played in four, starting once, with two receptions for 17 yards.
Those are all of the upperclassmen options for the Cardinal.
Marcus Brown is a redshirt sophomore with 12 catches for 86 yards with Stanford last season. Langdon Horace, Jacob Butler, Atticus Joseph, and Daylen Sharper are all three-star recruits.
The question isn't whether Stanford has the talent to keep the chains moving. They do. Hall and Robinson offer a pair of highly touted pass catchers behind the main group that will serve as key depth pieces. Shaw figures to get some looks, especially early, given his experience.
The rest of the receiver room has an interesting mix of incoming freshmen and players looking for an opportunity. What we're waiting to see is who will step up.
