Penn State wide receiver Koby Howard flashed in the Pinstripe Bowl, what he's capable of with more consistent playing time. (Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)
If you look around the NFL, Penn State Football is widely represented. Some of the best players in the sport are Nittany Lions. The one position that has struggled greatly as of late though, is wide receiver.
Whether due to quarterback development, incompetence at offensive coordinator, or scouting and development, the wide receiver position has been atrocious.
Former head coach James Franklin tried solving the issue in different ways.
First, Franklin fired coach Taylor Stubblefield and replaced him with Marques Hagans. Then, to jumpstart the position, Franklin leaned heavily into bringing in transfer wideouts. No matter what was tried, the result remained the same.
Penn State’s last elite wide receiver was Jahan Dotson back in 2021.
Since then, the Nittany Lions have had only one receiver eclipse 700 yards.
There hasn’t been a season that saw two wide receivers go over 600 yards together.
Last season, Trebor Pena was the leading receiver, catching 49 balls for 552 yards and two touchdowns. The last four seasons, there has only been one 50-plus catch receiver, KeAndre Lambert Smith, who ultimately transferred to Auburn.
The lowest of lows came in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, when Drew Allar didn’t complete one single pass to a wide receiver the entire game.
Breaking a Curse: Matt Campbell Confronts Penn State’s WR Drought
A primary reason why head coach Matt Campbell was hired at Penn State is his ability to develop talent and do much more with much less. No position best represents this better than at wide receiver.
In the past four seasons, Iowa State has had five times more 700-plus yard receivers and six times more 50-plus reception pass catchers than the Nittany Lions, over that span.
Penn State hasn’t had a receiver go over 1,000 yards since 2021, whereas Iowa State had two in one season back in 2024.
The two programs cannot even be compared when discussing the position.
So the question is, can Campbell bring his success with him to Happy Valley?
Maximizing the “Big Three”: Projecting the 2026 Starting Wide Receivers
Penn State’s roster has question marks, but the wide receiver position isn’t one of them, entering the 2026 season.
At the top of the depth chart, there are three obvious choices.
Chase Sowell: The Prototype X-Receiver Built for the Big Ten
Penn State’s go-to X-wide receiver this season will be senior Chase Sowell.
At times, inconsistency has been a factor, but Sowell has everything you want in a No. 1 receiver.
Sowell, 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, has lightning speed capable of catching any pass thrown in his direction.
Penn State’s second option will likely be decided by the time conference play begins.
Brett Eskildsen and Koby Howard: The Fight for the Flanker and Slot Dynamic
Brett Eskildsen has pure slot speed but he can line up as a flanker as well.
That’s where Penn State will likely use Eskildsen the most.
Eskildsen is coming off a sophomore campaign where he caught 30 balls for 526 yards and five touchdowns.
There hasn’t been a player more talked about around Penn State than Koby Howard.
Besides Sowell , Howard has by far the most upside in the room. This is an NFL caliber wide receiver and he showed flashes of that last season as a true freshman.
There was a nice stretch of games during the season that Howard led the team in longest reception per game. Howard, like Eskildsen, has the ability to line up any where on the field and make a difference. The slot position just seems like such a perfect spot for him this season. This will put him in the best matchups coverage-wise to exploit the opposing defense.
Expect a breakout season for Howard in 2026.
Out of these three starting caliber wide receivers, Sowell seems to be tracking towards being a mainstay with Howard and Eskildsen battling it out for who is the other starting receiver.
It’s noteworthy that Penn State offensive coordinator Mouser prefers 12 personnel, which means only two wide receivers will be on the field for the majority of the snaps.
Sometimes in football, the depth pieces are just as important as the starters.
A Big Ten football season is a long grind and injuries are inevitable.
The main difference with this year’s roster is the talent that is behind the big three receivers at the top of the depth chart.
Coincidentally, there are three really talented and up-and-coming players that fill that role perfectly. Take a look at the projected 2 Deep depth chart at WR for 2026:
X (Split End) Chase Sowell – Karon Brookins
Z (Flanker) Brett Eskildsen – Keith Jones Jr
Y (Slot) Koby Howard – Zay Robinson
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Cultivating the Pipeline: A Sneak Peek at the 2027 Recruiting Targets
Looking ahead for the class of 2027, Penn State Football already has two 4-star wide receivers in Landon Blum and Jamir Dean.
Wide receivers coach Kashif Moore will likely aim to add two more receivers to the class.
Khalil Taylor, Jaden Baldwin, Deshawn Hall, and Isaiah Alvarez all have official visits scheduled.
As things currently stand, Penn State seems to be best positioned to land Jaden Baldwin, bringing him to Happy Valley from Arizona, as a big piece of the puzzle for the future at a position group that could see a big turnaround this fall.
Penn State Football Recruiting: 5 Elite Class of 2028 Recruits the New Staff is Already Chasing
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He started a successful Penn State Football account on X a little over a year and a half ago.
Tapped into recruiting both regionally and nationally, Ed graduated Rowan University with a Journalism degree.
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