Wisconsin's 2018 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com contributors Jon McNamara, John Veldhuis, Jon Gorman and Jonathan Mills ranked the Top 30 players who we think are the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored in to our individual rankings, which were combined into a final score.

30: CHRIS JAMES / 29: ANTHONY LOTTI / 28: JAKE FERGUSON / 27: ALEC INGOLD / 26: BRYSON WILLIAMS / 25: MADISON CONE / 24: RAFAEL GAGLIANONE / 23: BEAU BENZSCHAWEL / 22: AARON VOPAL / 21: SCOTT NELSON / 20: CAESAR WILLIAMS / 19: TYLER BIADASZ

The Badgers have one big starting job up for grabs on their offensive depth chart this fall: tight end. With Troy Fumagalli off to the NFL the Badgers will need to find at least one tight end who can become the last piece of the puzzle - and give them a reliable option in the middle of the field to take some of the pressure off of their deep group of wide receivers.

Luckily for the Badgers they have plenty of candidates to choose from this fall, and Kyle Penniston is a good bet to get the majority of the snaps with the first team when the season starts. For one thing, he's the team's most experienced option - and probably their most consistent pass catcher at this point. Plus, senior Zander Neuville is working his way back from a season-ending leg injury, and is more of an in-line blocker than a tight end that the Badgers can split out wide. And while redshirt freshman Jake Ferguson impressed during spring camp, he would need to prove that he can be as consistent as Penniston to pass him on the depth chart.

Penniston will likely get the first chance to grab the job and run away with it. And as a natural pass-catcher, he could be a productive part of Wisconsin's offense. But don't be surprised if the Badgers rely on their depth at tight end and spread out the targets a little bit more than they did when Troy Fumagalli was on top of the depth chart.

This wide receiver came on strong towards the end of last season, and will be a key part of the UW offense in 2018.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.