Mel Kiper Jr. highlights Chris Brazzell II as one of favorite WRs
By David Wasson
Published:
Former Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II turned in a dazzling senior season in Knoxville in 2025, a 1,000-yard receiving campaign with nine touchdown catches in the Volunteers’ 8-5 campaign.
That effort vaulted him into serious NFL consideration, one Brazzell and hundreds of others hope comes true during next week’s 2026 NFL Draft.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is so high on Brazzell that he lists the former Vol, along with Georgia’s Zachariah Branch, as his two favorite wide receivers available in his pre-draft breakdown of the players at each position who will outperform their draft slots.
Here is what Kiper said about Brazzell:
Brazzell might come off the board slightly after Branch — think late Round 2 or sometime during Round 3. But he has all the traits coaches want. He’s 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds. He runs a 4.37-second 40. He has a wide catch radius and knows how to adjust to poorly thrown balls to still make the grab. And the stats spell out all that: Brazzell caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and nine TDs last season, averaging 16.4 yards per reception.
Brazzell finished 2025 with 62 receptions for 1,017 yards. His 4-year total, which included 2 seasons at Tulane, featured 136 catches for 2,072 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft begins Thursday (8 pm ET, ESPN/ABC) in Pittsburgh and runs through Saturday.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
