Michigan Wolverines Football: Position By Position Review — Wide Receiver

Michigan had a few receivers play at a high level this fall, but who played at the highest?

Heading into the 2019 season, wide receiver was viewed as the most loaded position group on the roster. Juniors Tarik Black, Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones were considered as talented as any trio you'd find and incoming freshman Mike Sainristil was buzzing all offseason and was expected to make a huge impact in Josh Gattis' new "speed in space" offense.

Collins and Peoples-Jones ended up have pretty good years, while Black struggled and is now transferring. Instead of Sainristil making the big impact, we saw more of freshman Giles Jackson in several different areas. The biggest revelation at the position was, of course, sophomore Ronnie Bell leading the team in catches and yards. All in all, the group was solid, but necessarily as dynamic as most thought.

Michael Spath recently asked a very direct question about the group on Twitter — who was Michigan's top wide receiver this season?

Who was Michigan's top wide receiver on the team this season?

— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) December 12, 2019

Nearly 1,000 people weighed in and Collins came away with 50 percent of the votes, which is pretty much how I thought it would play out. If I had voted, I  would've tabbed Collins as well, but Bell would've received some heavy consideration, which he did, garnering 44 percent of the votes. Peoples-Jones came in a distant third with just six percent.

Bell actually paced the team in catches with 44 and yards with 705 but he only scored one touchdown over the course of 12 games. Collins, on the other hand, led the team in touchdown catches with seven and became Shea Patterson's main downfield weapon after the halfway point of the season.

There's something to be said about Bell's effort as a runner after the catch and as a blocker downfield. For someone who is just 6-0, 184-pounds, Bell is as tough as they come and refused to go down after the catch. He endeared himself to a lot of fans because of the way he plays the game, but most would agree that Collins was U-M's best receiver. Peoples-Jones is probably the most physically talented of them all, but for whatever reason it still hasn't really clicked. 

Bell will obviously be back next year as a true junior, and Collins and Peoples-Jones may be leaning towards returning despite being draft eligible. If they do, U-M will once again head into the 2020 season with one of the better receiving corps in the country.

Who would you vote for? How would you rate the receiving corps as a whole? Comment below!!!