Heel Tough Blog: 2025 Position Previews- WR

Anthony Pagnotta
Jul 23
4 min read

It’s that time of year again, folks. With the season fast approaching, it is time to give you a preview of what this roster is going to look like this upcoming season under new coach Bill Belichick. Today, we take a look at a unit that we feel pretty positive about heading into the season despite a lack of experience, the wide receivers.

Senior Kobe Paysour is the most experienced player in the room and is expected to be heavily involved for the team this season. So far in his career, Paysour has split his time between the outside and the slot and has been more effective in the latter role than the prior. He has also had his career stunted a bit by the two broken feet that he suffered in the 2023 season and the hope is that he will be back to the form that he showed in his limited snaps in 2022 and the early part of 2023.

Sophomore Jordan Shipp is a guy that has clearly impressed the staff this offseason with what he has shown them since he has taken over and could be in line for one of the starting jobs on the outside. Last year, in just 162 snaps, Shipp hauled in nine passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, decent numbers for a true freshman in last year’s packed receiving corps. This season, he could very well be destined for a breakout campaign, especially with the opportunities that are expected to be there for him.

The other starting nod probably depends on where the staff wants to play Paysour. Chris Culliver is back after shining late last season and could get the starting nod if Paysour goes to the slot. Despite having just seven career catches, his performance in the game against NC State in the regular season finale provided some hope that he can be the player that we were expecting him to be out of high school. He is another guy who could have a breakout season if he gets the reps, but he may be battling for them if the staff does what many think they will and plays Paysour at one of the outside receiver spots.

The other player who may have a shot at starting is Michigan State transfer slot receiver Aziah Johnson. After not registering a single target in 2023 with the Spartans, he caught 16 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns and dropped just one pass on 25 targets this past season. He brings a little bit more experience to the table than either Culliver or Shipp but doesn’t have the upside that those two do. Regardless, Johnson will be a part of the rotation in this wide receiving corps this season.

Another player who we expect will be a part of the rotation this season is redshirt freshman Alex Taylor. Taylor played sparingly a year ago, registering just 57 snaps across four games and catching just one pass for 15 yards, but he is another receiver that was highly regarded as a high school recruit. If he can prove that he is as reliable as he was at the prep level, it will be hard to keep him off the field for too long.

The rest of the unit is really a question of who will step up. Sophomore Paul Billups II is the most experienced of the remaining players, having played 149 career snaps (135 in 2024) and he has shown flashes over the last couple of seasons. He could certainly be a factor on the outside if he can prove his value to the staff, something that he was able to do to a certain extent under Mack Brown.

Another name who is in a similar spot is redshirt freshman Javarius Green. In the limited reps that he played last season, he showed his potential to be a factor in the slot. If Paysour is going to return to the outside, Green has a great chance to end up in the two-deep as a slot receiver and there could be opportunity for him there.

Purdue transfer Nathan Leacock and Washington transfer Jason Robinson Jr. are guys who didn’t necessarily factor in at their previous stops but will hope to do so here. Both were well regarded players coming out of high school, so the talent is there, it’s now just a matter of if it will show up in Chapel Hill this season.

Fellow transfer Dayton Sneed is a depth piece that came over from Tennessee after he originally walked on there. He has work to do to be involved in the conversation in the slot, but it feels like he is being given a legitimate shot to carve out a role for himself even if he was brought in to try and help flip his brother in the 2026 recruiting class.

There are a host of true freshmen that will be hoping to make their impact felt this season, as well. Colorado transfer Adrian Wilson is probably the guy with the best chance to do that, but even for him, there are a lot of guys that he will have to pass on the depth chart to actually accomplish that. Shanard Clower, Madrid Tucker and Kenedy Uzoma are all great candidates to be redshirted this season.

Projected Depth Chart:

WR(X)

# 8 Kobe Paysour, Sr.

#11 Paul Billups II, So.

# 0 Alex Taylor, RFr.

#17 Adrian Wilson, Fr.

# 6 Dayton Sneed, So.

WR(Z)

# 1 Jordan Shipp, So.

# 3 Chris Culliver, Jr.

#15 Nathan Leacock, So.

#83 Kenedy Uzoma, Fr.