The quarterback position isn’t Duke football's only unknown heading into the 2026 season.
Gone is leading wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who joined Darian Mensah to play for ACC rival Miami this offseason. Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns, all team-highs, last season. Que’Sean Brown (transferred to Virginia Tech) and Sahmir Hagans (graduated) are also gone, so Walker Eget or Dan Mahan are going to have to rely on a new cast of characters at receiver to help move the Duke offense this season.
How does the Blue Devils’ wide receiver depth chart break down? We take a look.
Starters: Jared Richardson, Jaivon Solomon and Javen Nicholas
Richardson was the biggest signee at the receiver position for Duke this offseason as he hopes
to replicate Barkate’s success after both arrived in Durham from an Ivy League program. In 33 career games at Penn, Richardson caught 193 passes for 2,505 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Solomon redshirted last season after only appearing in three games for a total of 12 snaps, but has potential for a breakout season. As a senior in high school, he had 88 receptions for 1,560 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Nicholas arrives in Durham after playing for Charlotte last season, where he caught 60 passes for 740 yards and five touchdowns.
Backups: Kavon Simmons, Jamien Little, Jayden Moore
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke football position preview: Wide receivers
