2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Denzel Boston
- Jack Gaffney
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Wide receiver is a pretty fun position to dissect in the NFL Draft cycle once again in 2026, and among this class, you may not find a bigger physical specimen among the top end of prospects than Washington's Denzel Boston. Buried on the depth chart his first two years as a Huskie with Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan above him, Boston is a case of someone who had to wait a couple of years before he really got his opportunities. Once that happened, he became a dependable big-bodied target with 125 receptions, 1715 yards, and 20 touchdowns across his Junior and Senior campaigns, en route to making the All-Big 10 Third Team in 2025.
At first glance, Boston has the measurables of what you'd want out of an NFL X receiver, and things like his hands and contested catch ability jump out big time. But this is a class of guys where he may get lost in the shuffle due to some of his shortcomings. Will/could that cause him to slip out of the first round? That remains to be seen, but here's what I have on the UW product.
Player Bio
Name: Denzel Boston
Jersey: No. 12
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Washington
Class: Senior
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 209 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Michigan and USC (2024), Michigan, Rutgers, and Washington State (2025)
Player Breakdown
Hands/Ball Security (9.75/10)
There are some things you can be skeptical about with Boston's game, but his hands are absolutely not one of them. Outside of one drop against Michigan in '25 on a prayer ball that resulted in a pick, I saw no other true "drops" throughout these five games. Along with the elite set of mitts, Boston's catch radius is everything you'd hope for from a guy of his stature, and he's able to go up and get just about anything, and was also pretty good when it came to balls thrown slightly behind him.
Contested Catch (10/10)
For his career, Boston's contested catch rate is an exceptional 61 percent, but was a whopping 76.9 percent (10-for-13) in 2025. We saw one of those plays where he didn't convert, as he lost control of the ball on a corner's helmet while bringing it in, but there are far more plays like this with him.
Tracking/Ball Skills (9.75/10)
Boston is an elite downfield ball tracker as you could hope for, especially for a prospect with his measurables. Just watch this rep vs. Michigan in 2025, where he adjusts late, goes up, and snags this. Plenty of other great adjustment plays on his tape, and his tracking skills are just once again, really good.
Route Running (8.5/10)
Boston's route tree isn't complete, but as you can imagine, his best work typically comes on go balls and posts; there are other tools in the bag that do him well. The very first rep I saw in these games was the Michigan 2024 game where he runs a sluggo off a motion, and he absolute dices up this corner on it to get a win in a C2 hole, and I was surprised not to see him run those more, and additionally, with some help when it comes to mechanically getting in and out of breaks quicker, I think zigs, which he did run at Washington, can be something that can seperate him from others at his size. Things like comebacks are probably never going to be something he'll be great at running, for instance, but he's a pretty good route salesman for what he can do.
Separation (7.25/10)
This is the one part of Boston's game that you could put some red flags on. I wasn't expecting him to be an elite separator at his size to begin with, and while he showed the ability to separate underneath on occasion, there's some to be desired on some routes; over routes were ones where corners felt good about their ability to stay glued to his back hip pocket, for instance. He also needs to get better at quickening his pace at the top of some of these routes he runs, which goes back to his route-running. Again, you don't need him to be mid-2010s Antonio Brown, but he has some ground to cover here.
Release (7.75/10)
I'd say mostly the same thing for Boston as I did with a guy who's similarly sized from last year's class in Tet McMillan, in that he's not super explosive or violent off the line. Where he'd differ is that Boston can work through with physicality if need be, and there were a number of reps where I thought he had some good footwork on some inside release wins. Not a strong suit, but I said the same about the guy who just won OROY, so who am I to say?
Run After the Catch (8/10)
I don't know if Boston will ever be a league-best YAC threat in the NFL, and calling him more of a possession receiver wouldn't be inaccurate, but he definitely showed some toughness and grit after the catch, picking up extra yards on a few occasions. Not an area where he's spectacular, but I get the sense he can contribute more here than what was shown.
Vertical Speed (8.25/10)
Boston's speed downfield isn't anything that is going to wow anyone, but it's functionally good enough to work downfield as a bigger target, and if he can end up in the high 4.5s in the vain of a Mike Evans, Michael Pittman, Michael Wilson (using three guys named mike was not intentional I promise you), I wouldn't be alarmed. Anything better and I'd feel great. Lastly, since this is worth bringing up here, I'd suppose: Boston has a return TD to his name.
Burst/Acceleration (3.5/5)
Another area where you can chalk this up to Boston being a bigger framed guy, and while Boston isn't someone who's going to explode off the snap, his ability to get through the gears, especially when he's working vertically on go's, posts, etc, is pretty good.
Athleticism (3.75/5)
For a wide receiver, Boston's athleticism definitely stands out the best on most of the contested catch grabs he has on tape. I'd also bring up his play strength for right now, which especially matters in our next category.
Blocking (4.75/5)
Not a perfect score here, but especially after watching the Washington State game, I came away very impressed with Boston's willingness to get active in run support and the bulk of results on those plays. Washington occasionally would task him with working back towards the ball and wiping out opposing EDGEs and IDLs, and Boston showed the ability to knock some of those guys off their feet. Then there's play like this that really won me over (a downfield block on a screen play much later in this game is even better).
Versatility (4.5/5)
Boston has the ability to line up as an X, Z, and slot receiver, and could reasonably line up at any of those spots at the next level. I'd be intrigued to see if there are teams that may value him in a jumbo slot role more than anything, since he did look pretty good when he was lined up there, but as a physical wideout who's 6'4", I'd like to think a majority of teams like him the most as an X.
Player Summary
If you're a fan of a team that's in the market for a tough, physical, big, wide receiver with great hands and a great catch radius, Denzel Boston is the guy for you, even with some of his shortcomings. He's someone whom I was a bit skeptical of before writing this up, and can now at least say is someone I'd be willing to go to bat for outside of this year's big three at the wide receiver position (Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson in whatever order you want). Naturally, I look at some teams, such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and, ironically, given his last name, yes, New England, among those that could be primed to acquire his services as night one of the draft winds down. In any event, though, I'm excited to see how things progress for him. There's a toughness and grit to his game that I can easily respect, and I imagine teams will as well. Keep an eye on the 40 and three-cone times this week, though.
Rookie Projection: Starting Wide Receiver (Primary X but with Z and Slot usage)
Third-Year Projection: Productive X Wide Receiver
Final Grade: (85.75/100) Late First-Round Grade
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