Tennessee football’s top five options to replace JaVonta Payton

One of the highly touted members in Tennessee football’s 2021 recruiting class, Walker Merrill did gain experience playing in nine games as a true freshman.

Nobody else on this list has a profile more similar to JaVonta Payton than Walker Merrill. At 6’1″ 180 pounds, Payton had more of the build of a slot receiver last year but was super effective for Tennessee football in the wideout spot. Well, Merrill is also 6’1″, and he and Cameron Miller both have the sizes to potentially play in the slot.

However, Miller’s speed and versatility made him more a potential slot guy to replace Velus Jones Jr., and Merrill gives off more of a vibe of a wideout. Last year, Merrill lined up for a lot of games, and he did catch five passes for 52 yards, so he showed his potential multiple times.

Heading into this year, that makes for a strong possibility that Merrill works his way into the starting lineup. Similar to Chas Nimrod, he doesn’t appear to be a guy who will ever become the go-to receiver and replace Cedric Tillman, but Josh Heupel used him enough last year to suggest he will become a rotational guy sooner rather than later.

Given the fact that Merrill is a unique change of pace from Tillman, just like Payton, he’s the first guy on this list with a real chance to actually start as the No. 2 wideout. Don’t sleep on his potential. He joined Rocky Top with tons of hype last year for a reason.