Oregon's receivers have to turn potential into results.

Last year the Ducks passing game was strictly the Dillon Mitchell show. Justin Herbert targeted him 130 times, nearly three times more than any other receiver on the roster. Mitchell had 8 drops. Other times, often in crucial situations, he was impossibly well-covered: two balls went to him in overtime against Stanford, blasted by a defender draped all over him. At the end of the Utah game, 4th and long, a slant to Mitchell, and the cornerback met him at the football, incomplete

Herbert appeared so frustrated by drops that as the season wore on he looked first, second and third for number 13, regardless of who else might be in the route. He'd pass up open receivers to try to thread one to his most effective target.

As a result, Mitchell compiled a brilliant statistical season, hauling in 75 receptions for 1184 yards and 10 touchdowns. Fifty of his catches resulted in either a first down or a touchdown, tops in the PAC-12 Conference.

Yet this one-dimensional passing attack was only marginally effective in the big picture. The Ducks ranked 7th in the conference in passing yards per game, 4th in yards per attempt, 4th in passer rating, 1st in fan frustration.

In January, Mitchell became the only starter not to return on offense when he declared early for the NFL draft. The Vikings picked him up in round 7. In spring practice, the Ducks and new wide receiver coach Jovon Bouknight set to the task of creating their Plan B.

Plucked from the staff of Utah State after a college career at Wyoming where he was a Biletnikof Award finalist, Bouknight is the kind of positive and relentless taskmaster Oregon needed to craft a motley crew of holdovers and high school sensations into a workable receiver corps.

Before the plane leaves for Texas he has to identify the 5 or 6 guys who will run their routes right and hang on to the ball.

In Herbert the Ducks have an NFL top five draft pick, but somehow they have to stop making him look bad, start giving him the support to establish some rhythm and confidence when they take to the air.

The best returning weapon is junior Jaylon Redd, 38 catches last season for 433 yards and 5 touchdowns. Redd looked stellar at times on the receiving end of Herbert's missiles. A strike between the two of them in the overtime victory over Washington was one of the receiving plays of the year in the conference. He's small at 5-8 but quick and athletic.

Few knew that last season the junior from Rancho Cucamonga, California played through a series of devastating injuries and a personal tragedy.

(You may want to mute the sound on the accompanying video. It contains language some may consider offensive. It's included because it illustrates perfectly Redd's potential value to the offense.)

Redd's ready for a larger role in the offense, and the big plays he made last year under tremendous adversity should give Herbert and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo increased confidence in him. Out of Mitchell's shadow, he just might emerge as a playmaker on the order of Bralon Addison and Josh Huff, smaller, athletic guys in a similar mold.

He's versatile, too, a real weapon on the Jet Sweep and a threat in the return game.

Hopes are also high for graduate transfer Juwan Johnson, 6-4, 230, from Glassboro, New Jersey and Penn State.

With the Nittany Lions Johnson racked up 81 career catches for 1123 yards but only two touchdowns, averaging 13.9 yards a catch. Injuries moved him down the depth chart in a frustrating junior year, and as news of his pending transfer surfaced, PSU fans spilled some poison in the water, saying he was plagued by drops.

Duck fans are cautiously optimistic after last year's debacle with Wake Forest transfer Tabari Hines. Counted on heavily in the summer position reviews for a big role in the offense, Hines reported late and injured and wound up catching a paltry 3 passes for 32 yards and one touchdown, the lone score a meaningless tack-on in a rout over Portland State.

The Johnson transfer looks different and more promising, for a variety of reasons. One, Johnson graduated ahead of schedule and arrived at Oregon in time to join spring practice on April 4th. He impressed immediately with his NFL body and work habits, established himself as a leader, started to develop some chemistry with his new quarterback.

Johnson turned in a sharp and focused performance in the Spring Game that included a nifty 6-yard touchdown catch from Herbert, a fade route in the left corner of the end zone nearly impossible to defend when executed so flawlessly. Later he grabbed a 20-yard out on third and long, finishing his first day in an Oregon game uniform with 3 catches for 32 yards, with another TD catch ruled incomplete that might have been allowed on a replay review.

Immediately you could see the possibilities. The big fella gives the Ducks a dimension they've rarely had in their receiver corps. He's been a leader in player-led workouts, committing strongly to establishing a rapport with Herbert.

He's serious and intelligent. In the video below, note the Odell Beckham-sized hands.

The third strong spoke in the wheel of fan optimism is true freshman wide receiver Mycah Pittman. Pittman is the son of former Fresno State and NFL running back Michael Pittman, the brother of standout USC receiver Michael Pittman junior.

The pedigree is impressive, but what's more impressive are the work habits and route discipline the younger Pittman has developed. He joined the Ducks at the midpoint of spring practice and immediately established himself, moving into the two-deep, leading all receivers with 7 catches at the spring game. He'd worked out on his own all through the spring, keeping up with practice with daily Face Time contact with staff members, learning the offense on a whiteboard at home.

Pittman's single-minded dedication and seriousness, as much as his talent, makes him a leading candidate to be an impact freshman for the Ducks. He's glue-fingered and on his game, as ambitious and laser-focused at 18 as Jerry Rice in his prime. Marcus Arroyo may have nabbed another gem.

With a Mitchell-sized hole in the offensive production numbers, the Ducks need the hype for Johnson and Pittman to be real. After that, there's a host of intriguing possibilities. The veterans, Brenden Schooler and Johnny Johnson III, could respond to all the new competition by having bounce-back seasons after dismal 2018 campaigns. 6-5 Brian Addison is one of the best athletes in the group, a late addition after a transfer from UCLA last summer who missed some time due to a disciplinary issue but has showed some promise on the practice field. He has the body to be a great complement to Juwan Johnson, particularly in the Red Zone. Josh Delgado was another freshman early enrollee who showed well in drills, capping it off with three catches in the spring game. Newcomer Lance Wilhoite has a 4-star rating and speed. Redshirt freshman JJ Tucker and incoming freshman Jaron Waters have the smooth gear changes, body control and hands to develop into capable targets, provided they have the resolve to work their way up a crowded depth chart.

The possibilities are numerous. There's talent here, and promise. But someone, hopefully several someones, have to emerge and get the job done against a tough Auburn secondary and imposing conference road schedule. All potential means is that you haven't done anything yet.

Justin Herbert can throw it, but someone has to get open and catch the football. An Oregon passing attack that improves on last year's numbers would be a huge boost toward achieving some of those high expectations that follow the team into 2019. An improved and deeper tight end group should help also.

Some of the easiest yards in a passing offense are little tosses to an opening running back. Both C.J. Verdell and Travis Dye showed some ability catching the football in their first season. Arroyo has to use them more effectively in this dimension in the fall, partly to help keep his quarterback upright while improving his numbers and productivity.