Who will lead Alabama football in receiving yards this fall?

Sep 7, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Ryan Williams (2) scores against South Florida Bulls defensive back Tavin Ward (2) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 42-16. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

The answer to the question of who will lead Alabama football in receiving yards this fall may ultimately be looked back at as a no-brainer.

Ryan Coleman-Williams is the obvious favorite to do so, although he didn’t last season. Germie Bernard led the Crimson Tide in receiving yards last year after Coleman-Williams did so as a freshman in 2024. Now that Bernard is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Coleman-Williams is expected to be WR1 in Tuscaloosa this fall.

However, if it is not Coleman-Williams, who will it likely be?

Lotzeir Brooks, Rico Scott and Derek Meadows are likely the next players up in this discussion.

Brooks appeared to get more and more comfortable as his freshman season progressed last fall. He finished the year with 32 receptions for 441 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The explosive playmaker returns to Tuscaloosa this fall as a projected starter.

Meadows, at 6-foot-5, looks as if he will receive more playing time in the upcoming season after a strong spring.

“We’ve had a lot of youth on the football field the last two years, but maybe a guy like Derek Meadows sticks out in my mind,” DeBoer said on “Hey Coach” during the spring. “You saw Lotzeir (Brooks) get on the football field at the receiver position, especially the second half of the season, but Derek is a long receiver that can really cover a lot of ground, has made a lot of nice plays here all spring.”

Derek Meadows was EVERYWHERE today 😳 pic.twitter.com/FHrzxgO42w

— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) April 12, 2026

Scott pulled in 11 receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns last season en route to playing in all 15 games and starting in three of them.

Lance Deane, who trained Scott during the offseason, told Touchdown Alabama he expects Scott to be a complete wide receiver this fall.

“I would expect a complete football player, a complete receiver, one that’s gonna show you the selflessness in the run game, with being able to block, also being able to be special with the ball in his hand,” Deane told Touchdown Alabama. “That’s another thing that we have talked about being able to show: his ability to make guys miss and be special in short-yardage situations. Then obviously, another thing that I’m super excited for is his deep-ball playmaking ability, with his ability to stretch the field. That is something he was always blessed with, and I would expect that he gets some opportunities with that this year for sure to showcase that.”

The biggest sleeper in this conversation is Cederian Morgan. The Alabama native is a freshman for the Crimson Tide, and he is expected to be a contributor in year one in Tuscaloosa.