The New England Patriots gave out the third-largest wide receiver contract in free agency this offseason, signing Romeo Doubs to a four-year pact at an annual average cost of $17 million. Even though those numbers are significant, the team is likely not done adding to a wide receiver group that looked improved in 2025 but still is missing some pieces.
One of the most glaring is a true difference maker on the perimeter. The Patriots might have set their sights on a trade candidate, but they also could very well find one in this year’s draft.
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If they choose to go for the latter route, Tennessee’s Chris Brazzell certainly seems like a name to keep in mind.
Hard facts
Name: Chris Brazzell II
Position: Wide receiver
School: Tennessee (RS Jr.)
Opening day age: 22 (9/22/2003)
Measurements: 6’4”, 198 lbs, 80 1/8” wingspan, 32 3/8” arm length, 9” hand size, 4.37s 40-yard dash, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
Colleges: Tulane (2022-23), Tennessee (2024-25)
Career statistics: 40 games (28 starts) | 1,938 offensive snaps | 216 targets, 136 catches (63.0%), 2,072 receiving yards (15.2/catch), 16 TDs, 12 drops | 6 penalties (incl. 1 declined/offset)
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Accolades: First-team All-SEC (2025), Third-team All-America (2025), Third-team All-AAC (2023)
Brazzell, whose father was drafted by the Jets in 1998 and spent three years in the NFL, was rated a consensus three-star prospect after catching 104 passes for 1,596 yards and 21 touchdowns during his prep career at Midland Legacy in Midland, TX. Receiving only modest interest, he originally committed to Florida Atlantic, but six months later flipped to Tulane.
He spent the first two seasons of his college career with the Green Wave, starting eight of 15 games and registering 45 catches for 722 yards and five TDs. However, after the departure of head coach Willie Fritz, who had already coached his dad at Blinn College in the 90s, Brazzell decided to enter the transfer portal.
He officially did so in December 2023, and immediately encountered unfamiliar levels of interest: close to 40 schools tried to bring him aboard, including some of the top programs in the country. Brazzell eventually decided to join Tennessee over, among others, Michigan, Washington and Georgia.
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In two seasons with the Vols, he played 25 games with 20 starts and hauled in 91 passes for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also was voted first-team All-SEC to cap off his redshirt senior campaign in 2025.
Draft profile
Projected round: 2-3 | Consensus big board: No. 50 | Patriots meeting: N/A
Strengths: Brazzell offers a tremendous blend of size and speed. His height and wingspan put him in the 91 and 92 percentiles, respectively, for wide receiver prospects since 1999 and he also has 89-percentile speed. His measurables show up on tape, too, and he eats up turf with his long strides, efficient movement skills and fluid lower body. This, in turn, allows him to run some crisp routes and use tempo to his advantage while still being a veritable home run threat on the perimeter.
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While mostly an outside receiver at Tennessee, Brazzell can line up anywhere in the formation and take the field independently of situation. Aiding to that is his physicality and competitive spirit as a blocker in the run game. That also shows up when being pressed upon releasing into his route or when asked to box out defensive backs in contested catch situations. In general, he is an inaccuracy eraser due to his natural attributes, the massive catch radius that results from them, and his impressive hand-eye coordination.
Weaknesses: Brazzell may bring a physical mindset, but he is not the strongest player and will need to bulk up in order to duplicate some of the things he did in college as both a receiver and a blocker. Becoming more powerful should help him sustain blocks in the run game, fight through contact as a ball carrier and have an easier time disengaging from cornerbacks — all things he did at Tennessee but sometimes on an uneven level.
In addition, Brazzell is not a particularly elusive player who can easily step out of tackle attempts or shake off defenders. Furthermore, his route tree at Tennessee was limited and he has yet to show that he can execute in a more complex system after mostly running go routes and comebacks (curls or hitches). He also had some concentration drops and over his career let 8.2% of targets go through his hands.
Patriots preview
What would be his role? The Patriots used a mix of Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams on the outside in 2025, but none of them fit into the No. 1 mold quite like Brazzell would. The 22-year-old, after all, is a true size/speed athlete who can challenge teams deep but also has the potential to beat 1-on-1 coverage on the perimeter and serve as a big-bodied red zone target. That, ideally, would be what his role would look like further down the line. As for 2026, he likely would be more of a package player and spot starter.
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Does he have positional versatility? Brazzell aligned split out wide on over 90% of his snaps between Tulane and Tennessee, and he was a non-factor on special teams. From that point of view, his versatility is limited. That said, skill is skill and the Patriots would find a way to put him in positions to be successful. While he would still line up outside a vast majority of time, his route running and straight-line speed might also make him a candidate to slide into a big slot role similar to how Mack Hollins was employed at times in 2025.
What is his growth potential? Even though he should be able to find a role right away, Brazzell’s room for growth is evident and realizing his potential will decide his future in the NFL. To maximize it, he will need to add some more branches to his route tree and also level up in terms of play strength. If able to do all that, he can become a high-end WR2 or maybe even a WR1 depending on the wider context within the offense.
Why the Patriots? Brazzell looks tailor-made to play with Drake Maye. He has legitimate long speed, runs routes at a high level, and can hold his own against press-man coverage. Frankly, what he does best is what Maye does best: challenge defenses deep and be a big-play threat on every down. The Patriots, even after signing Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million free agency deal, still need just that. Brazzell has the tools to fit those requirements and the potential to be a rising-tide-lifting-all-the-boats-type player for New England’s passing game.
Why not the Patriots? Unlike other receivers in this year’s class, Brazzell needs to become more polished in several areas. He is quite good and NFL-caliber to begin with, sure, but if the Patriots see him as too much of a developmental prospect they might just look elsewhere for receiver help. With Drake Maye on his rookie contract and the window just having been opened, the team might feel more comfortable going with players just that bit more ready-made to play starter-level snaps on a weekly basis from the start.
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One-sentence verdict: Tall guy running fast has not necessarily been a recipe for success in the NFL lately, but Brazzell is not your typical traits-first prospect and offers a diverse skillset well-suited to make an early impact.
For more information about Chris Brazzell II and the rest of this year’s class of prospects, please take a look at Adam’s 2026 NFL Draft Guide.
Also, what do you think about Brazzell as a potential Patriots target? Do you like him? Where would you pick him? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
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