Ranking Wisconsin's football most important transfer portal needs

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It's safe to say that the Wisconsin Badgers have a ton of work to do in the transfer portal this offseason. While some young stars, including linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, will most likely stay, the Badgers still lack depth and talent at many key positions.

In addition, a few of Wisconsin's standouts from this season, including edge rushers Mason Reiger and Darryl Peterson, will be graduating and are out of eligibility. With them gone from the two-deep, there are even more roles to be filled by transfer additions. As head coach, Luke Fickell said last week during his National Signing Day press conference, "the transfer portal class is going to be bigger than we've ever had."

With a lot of talk about the transfer portal, it's important to understand which positions are the most crucial for Fickell and his staff to reload this winter. With that, here are the five positions that are of the utmost importance:

5. Wide receiver

Wisconsin's wide receiver depth will be much lower headed into this offseason than it was the previous year, thanks to the departures of senior pass catchers, including Vinny Anthony II, Jayden Ballard, and Dekel Crowdus. It's also unclear whether young receivers such as Eugene Hilton and Trech Kekahuna will stay at Wisconsin or enter the transfer portal. Regardless, Wisconsin will need to land three or four receivers out of the portal. Wisconsin is always going to favor the running back position offensively, but the only way to play complementary football is with a solid passing attack, and 50% of a solid passing attack are the players who catch the ball.

4. Defensive back

Wisconsin's secondary was very disappointing this past season. Granted, the Badgers lost their fair share of players to injury and other circumstances, most importantly safety Preston Zachman and cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean.

Still, Wisconsin now has to be aggressive in replacing and reloading this depleted defensive back room. Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel's defense is heavily reliant on strong defensive back play, and that was one of the unit's Achilles heels this past season. Expect the Badgers to be on the lookout for a fair amount of corners and safeties out of the portal.

3. Edge rushers

As mentioned earlier, senior edge rushers Reiger and Peterson were excellent for the Badgers this season, helping the defense deliver strong performances in ranked wins against Washington and Illinois. However, with both of these players graduating, Wisconsin's defense will be lacking real edge threats defensively. The Badgers proved that this coaching staff, including linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, can develop edge rushers well. The staff will need to use that momentum to land higher-profile transfers out of the portal. Replacing Reiger and Peterson's production isn't simple, but it is quite doable and is necessary for the team to have any chance of success in 2026.

2. Offensive line/Center

Wisconsin's offensive line could not find any rhythm this year due to a crazy amount of injuries and a lack of experience as a collective unit. Most positions on the offensive line, besides left tackle, could be listed as positions of need for the Badgers. However, the most important need out of this position group is a center. Wisconsin struggled when starter Jake Renfro went down with an injury. Landing a high-profile starting center with multiple years of eligibility would be huge for the team's offense, and specifically the running game. Shaky offensive line play affected both the run and pass game on offense and was a key reason why Wisconsin's offense struggled mightily throughout the year. Improved offensive line play could be the difference between Wisconsin missing and making a bowl game next season.

1. Quarterback

This may seem obvious, but just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's not true. Quarterback is the No. 1 position that Wisconsin must have success with out of the portal. During his tenure at Wisconsin, Luke Fickell has only had his starting quarterback finish a game 11 out of his 28 total games. Additionally, Wisconsin is 8-3 in those contests, proving how important a healthy quarterback can be. Wisconsin has gotten unlucky the past two seasons, with both of its portal additions getting hurt and missing significant time. The Badgers need to spend big for a portal quarterback this offseason and find someone who can help the program return to a bowl game. Finding a dual-threat quarterback that fits Jeff Grimes' system is imperative and will make or break Fickell's future at Wisconsin.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football transfer portal biggest position need ranking 2025

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