The Wisconsin Badgers had a very good year in 2019. They came up just short in the Rose Bowl, but impressed a lot of people with their play against the favored Oregon Ducks. The Badgers’ main contributors all had fairly decent games against the Ducks. Running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 94 yards and added another 43 receiving yards. Quarterback Jack Coan threw for 186 yards and a score. Leading receiver Quintez Cephus had seven receptions for 59 yards and a score.
The problem for Wisconsin is that everyone on that list but Coan has declared for the NFL Draft and he just lost his blue-chip center, Tyler Biadasz, to the NFL Draft. That’s a lot of production declaring for the NFL Draft in one class. The team’s leading rusher, receiver, and top center all gone, just like that. What that means: Jack Coan will have to produce one heck of a season in 2020 if Wisconsin hopes to replicate its success and remain in contention for a Big Ten championship. This is part of why some national commentators, such as USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg, have Wisconsin at No. 18 in early-bird preseason 2020 rankings, while Iowa is No. 10.
To emphasize exactly how much production we are talking about, let’s take a look at the total percentage of offense that has declared for the NFL Draft in relation to its position. After Taylor, the next highest total from a running back in terms of rushing yards is Nakia Watson with 331 yards. That represents 10 percent of Wisconsin’s total rushing offense. Meanwhile, on the other side of that coin, Jonathan Taylor’s 2,003 yards represent 62 percent of Wisconsin’s total rushing offense.
Quintez Cephus was the Badgers’ leading receiver in 2019 with 901 yards on 59 receptions and seven scores. Tight end Jake Ferguson was the team’s second leading receiver with 407 yards, Kendric Pryor and A.J. Taylor both had 23 receptions and over 265 yards each. Cephus accounts for 32% of the receiving offense; the next highest total belongs to Ferguson at 14%. While this is a bit more equitable than the rushing offense, it’s still a stark difference, especially when you consider that the next leading receiver, not a tight end, is only at 10%.
The Badgers had a problem with getting their younger guys in on offensive possessions in 2019, and it could come back to haunt them in 2020. The Badgers need to find a way to feed some possessions to their second-stringers and reserves because it’s a lot to ask of a team to replace all that production and continue its winning ways. It could be that 2020 is ripe for plenty of “teachable moments” for Paul Chryst. It will be better if Wisconsin does find a way to replace all that talent, but if you want to understand why some national commentators aren’t supremely high on the Badgers for 2020, this is why.