The Railroads -- The Wide Receivers

Totally fun to own, and the more you have, the better.
Still, you cannot win the game with only railroads.

Reading Railroad -- Kris Burd, senior
At this point, we know what we have in Kris Burd: rock solid in pretty much every capacity.  He runs good routes, has a savvy about getting open, has a solid 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame, has good hands, is a good leaper, has decent deep speed, offers nice YAC ability, has good enough toughness over the middle, is courageous in traffic, gives you good downfield blocking, is reliable, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.  He might be a tad injury-prone, but otherwise, no knocks on his game whatsoever.  That being said, Kris Burd is a lot of things, but what he isn't is explosive.  He's not a guy you look at and think, "Wow, that guy is a game-changer, he's going to blow this bitch wide open."  The way I think about late-career Derrick Mason is about the way I think about Kris Burd.  Really, really good, but not quite blessed enough to be special.  Still, he's our #1, go-to wide receiver this season, and I'm really glad for it.  He should be able to make life easy for inexperienced quarterbacks because he gets open, he's pretty much where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there, and he fights hard to make tough catches.  Given even mediocre play at quarterback, go ahead and pencil Kris Burd in for 70+ catches and 900+ yards.  (Beyond this season, I actually think he has pretty decent NFL prospects.  I'm a Bengals fan, so sue me for this comparison, but Burd looks a lot like Darnay Scott.)

Pennsylvania Railroad -- Tim Smith, sophomore
Returning from last season's injury that led to a medical redshirt, I love that this guy is still only a sophomore.  And please don't make the mistake of forgetting about him amid the hubbub over Jennings and Terrell.  Tim Smith has legit deep speed, and the only thing Kris Burd lacks -- true, gamebreaking explosiveness -- Smith brings in spades.  Granted, his hands can desert him from time to time, and despite this being his third year in the program he can still be considered green.  I list him second in the pecking order because I think he'll start the season opener across from Burd, and I think he'll log the second-most plays from scrimmage at wideout.  I think he'll have a good year, and I think he'll offer enough of a consistent deep threat to soften defenses and pull safeties out of the box, where they took way-too-regular residence last season.

B&O Railroad -- Darius Jennings, true freshman
This is what I said about Jennings after watching the open practice on August 7th:

#6 Darius Jennings -- Go ahead and start getting excited about this guy. We haven't had an explosive athlete like this at wide receiver since... hell, I can't think of anyone. Pete Allen, I guess? He's just blur-quick, makes unbelievable cuts, makes it all look effortless. Seriously, the closest thing I've seen to DeSean Jackson at UVa.

Believe the hype.  This guy is the real deal.  So why only third in this position preview?  Kris Burd has earned his, and Tim Smith probably knows the offense and the routes better.  Plus, Jennings will be at his absolute most dangerous working from the slot this season.  But if either of the starters go down, I have no worries about DJ sliding outside.  At 5-11, 165, he's a tad on the small side, but Jacoby Ford was only 5-10, 160 when he was ripping fools new assholes at Clemson.  The aforementioned DeSean Jackson was 5-10, 155 at Cal.  If you've got the wheels and the skills, the size doesn't matter.

Short Line -- Matt Snyder, senior
If Kris Burd is everybody's favorite ice cream -- chocolate, and Tim Smith is underrated butter pecan, and Darius Jennings is exciting black cherry, then Matt Snyder is ol' reliable vanilla.  (Wow, terrible analogy, but I'ma leave it.)  Snyder is a battler, a possession guy who has carved out a niche by blocking hard, playing tough, and honing his ability to make difficult grabs in traffic.  What you don't expect is his better-than-bad ability to get deep and make plays, but he can do that.  I think he's a great weapon to add to the mix, especially when defenses are off balance with the raw speed we can throw at them with Burd, Smith, Jennings, Dominique Terrell, and E.J. Scott.  Snyder strikes me as a guy who will make some serious hay in the clutch, and I'm elated that he's a member of our rotation at wide receiver this season, because he offers a terrific complement to the other receivers.



Community Chest:

• Dominique Terrell, true freshman -- Ubertalented, but maybe still a tiny bit more raw than Jennings.  But make no mistake, this kid is a gamebreaker.  Spreading four wide with Jennings and Terrell in the slot will be beastly.  He's a weapon, but still probably only #5 in the pecking order this season.
• E.J. Scott, redshirt freshman -- Scott is the kind of guy who would eventually make a great #2-type, but I'm not sure he'll ever get the chance with the massive influx of receiving talent we're seeing added to the team.  He might need to make his mark on special teams this season.
• Miles Gooch, redshirt freshman -- Awkwardly built, but oddly effective.  We have a lot of big, possession-type receivers lingering on the depth chart, but I think Gooch is probably the best of the litter.
• Ray Keys, senior -- He's a worker, a blue-collar guy.  Good hands, good downfield blocker.  I'm not sure he won't be completely lost in the shuffle.
• Kevin Royal, sophomore -- A big receiver (6-3, 220) converted from tight end.  A pure possession guy who will likely struggle to find playing time.
• Bobby Smith, sophomore -- I expected more from this long-limbed condor (a legit 6-5 with a great wingspan), but he's struggled to stay healthy.  At this point, I don't see a clear path for him to get on the field.
• Thomas Wheet, freshman walk-on -- Has been coming on like gangbusters in training camp, but he's a bit of a mystery to me.  I know he was a "priority" recruited walk-on, so someone on the staff must have high hopes for the kid.

Chance -- This is an above-average receiving corps, with very apparent potential to be great.  The problem is, the receivers are entirely dependent upon the quarterback play, and I just don't think the QBs will be consistently good enough for the receivers to play up to that potential.  Kris Burd leads the team in catches and receiving yardage, and emerges as an All-ACC candidate.  Tim Smith breaks a few big ones, and Jennings and Terrell give us a taste of the excellence we'll be seeing from that duo for the next few years.  Still, the receivers come off seeming just above-average... blame the quarterbacks.

Development -- HOTEL
No, I know, I know.  You can't build houses and shit on the railroads.  But just give me a bit more poetic license here, okay?  Anyway... hotel...  Yeah, Kris Burd is a rock, Tim Smith has great potential, and Jennings and Terrell have upside off the charts.  This could end up being the best top-to-bottom receiving corps UVA has ever had.  This year.  Imagine if we had Matt Schaub or Shawn Moore flicking the passes.  We don't, so the ceiling is much lower.  But you have to sort of grade the position groups in a vacuum, and as a group these receivers have a ton of potential for greatness.

BOOM