Notre Dame’s Wide Receiver Rotation Remains a Work in Progress

Notre Dame’s wide receiver room is an interesting study after seven games.

A year ago, Malachi Fields and Jordan Faison led the Irish in receiving with just over 600 yards apiece.

In 2026, Faison has already recorded 451 yards and four touchdowns, while Micah Gilbert has 409 yards and two scores. Jaden Greathouse has added 263 yards and two touchdowns, putting him well ahead of Will Pauling’s 381 receiving yards last fall.

It’s clear those three have earned the trust of wide receivers coach Mike Brown and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Faison has produced since stepping on the field as a true freshman, while Greathouse has consistently delivered when the lights have been brightest, including in the National Championship Game.

“It's just consistency,” Brown stated. “It's just like anything else. We talked about it today, man, just an emphasis on consistently good, not occasionally great. It's not about what they just do one time. It's about what they can consistently do and that's what makes it. It's just consistency.” 

Getting the best players on the field is crucial at this level and Notre Dame has done that with its top three receivers.

However, in the Irish’s last two games against teams with a pulse, Brown has largely avoided a true rotation. There’s little question Faison, Gilbert and Greathouse need to be on the field as much as possible, but the group’s limitations have also been exposed at times.

If Notre Dame wants to play deep into January, it needs to develop depth behind its top three receivers. 

Against North Carolina, Notre Dame played four receivers, with Matt Jeffery logging nine snaps. In the most recent game, Brown again used four receivers, but Mylan Graham saw the field only because Faison pulled himself out for two plays on the final drive.

“Sometimes you get into those situations and certain situations alter your plans,” Brown said. “What does that mean? It means you got to go back and reevaluate what your plan was. It's always been a challenge for us. We talked a lot about it, talked a lot about it throughout the bye weekend.” 

2026 Notre Dame WR Snap Counts 

The lack of a consistent rotation has also caught the attention of head coach Marcus Freeman.

Freeman agreed with Brown that game flow often dictates playing time and personnel decisions. But after seven games, one has to wonder about the status of recruiting and development of the room, both of which ultimately fall on the coaching staff.

“The game sometimes dictates who you want in the game at that moment,” explained Freeman. “As we're getting ready for series four on offense, there was a plan, OK, let's get Mylan in, let's get some other guys. It ended up being a two-minute situation right before half. In a two-minute situation, you want your most dependable guys in that moment. Same thing now, you're down 11 at half and you're gonna start the second half with the starters and that becomes the flow of the game. In those toughest moments, you're gonna go with the guys that you truly trust.

“That's not to slight these other wide receivers. These guys are ascending and we have to play them more. I've been outspoken about it with the staff and we gotta find ways to get those guys in the game. But it's also a challenge to them.” 

So, what’s the quickest fix?

It likely starts with packages. If a receiver is struggling with alignments or learning the full playbook, the staff can give him 5-10 plays to master each week. That would allow Notre Dame to get more players involved without asking them to handle the entire offense.

The Irish could also move their receivers around to create opportunities. Faison can line up in the slot, opening a spot on the outside for Burress, Graham or Saldate. Greathouse can play all three receiver positions, which could create opportunities for Graham or even Bubba Frazier to get snaps in the slot.

Notre Dame has options if it wants to get creative. Moving its receivers around would also force opposing defenses to account for Faison, Gilbert and Greathouse at multiple positions.

Ultimately, the players must master their assignments and earn opportunities. But the staff also has to be willing to show trust that they’ve coached up the room to play more than three players.

“When you just think about the word trust, I heard a quote a long time ago that trust is earned and drops and it's lost in buckets,” explained Brown. “What does that mean? That just means it's an everyday thing. 

“It's no different for Jaden, Jordan and Micah. It's like every single day you got to come out here, you got to continue to build trust. Every day you're either building trust or you're hurting the trust in you. It comes down to consistency and guys have done a pretty good job with that. They're getting better and better and better and better, and that'll start to show up here as we go.” 

Perhaps the most perplexing decision has been Graham's disappearing role.

The Ohio State transfer had played at least 16 snaps in every game until Notre Dame's matchup against North Carolina, when he didn't see the field.

Notre Dame entered the season with high expectations for Graham, but through seven games, the Fort Wayne native has recorded just five receptions for 37 yards.

The Irish haven't done much to get him the ball when he's been on the field, but Graham hasn't checked out. He's remained engaged and is often one of the first players celebrating touchdowns when he's in the game.

If Graham were dealing with an injury, the reduced playing time would be easier to understand. But he's not, and Brown didn't offer a clear explanation for why Graham went from a contributor to an afterthought so quickly.

“He's still doing a really good job,” stated Brown. “It's not an indictment on Mylan now. Mylan's done everything that we've asked him to do. They battled it out obviously throughout training camp and decided to go with JG as a starter. A lot of the amount of snaps that JG's getting is because of how good and consistent that JG has been.

“It's not like Mylan's done anything wrong. You got a guy who's playing really, really, really good football right now for us and has been really, really consistent. And he and the quarterback have a great chemistry going right now.” 

During the bye week, Brown focused on finding a way to rotate, while improving in specific game situations. 

“Some red zone, third downs, some key situations where we just didn't execute for one reason or another,” Brown said of where the Irish need to be better. “And two-minute. At the end of both halves, we come up with no points at the end of both of those two-minute drives. Those are things that you kind of challenge those guys with mentally, and just putting them in those situations time and time again throughout practice was a big thing.” 

Brown was pleased with the team's engagement and focus during the bye week, particularly as the receivers worked to improve in those areas.

The group also got something it desperately needed, which is a bit ironic. 

“Rest,” said Brown. 

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