Patriots draft profile: Denzel Boston was built in the X-receiver factory

The New England Patriots investing high-end draft capital in wide receivers has not proven to be a particularly successful endeavor over the years. Whether it was Bethel Johnson or Chad Jackson in the 2000s, Aaron Dobson or N’Keal Harry in the 2010s, or most recently 2024 second-round flameout Ja’Lynn Polk, the team has struggled finding difference makers at receiver early on in the draft.

And yet, the team will have to keep taking swings — maybe as early as this year’s draft. There are several talented receivers who would make sense for the Patriots, including another one from the University of Washington: Denzel Boston.

Hard facts

Name: Denzel Boston

Position: Wide receiver

School: Washington (RS Jr.)

Opening day age: 22 (12/6/2003)

Measurements: 6’3 1/2”, 212 lbs, 32” arm length, 9 3/4” hand size, 6.80s 3-cone drill, 4.28s short shuttle, 37 1/2” vertical jump, N/A Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Colleges: Washington (2022-25)

Career statistics: 43 games (26 starts) | 1,540 offensive snaps, 269 special teams snaps | 204 targets, 132 catches (64.7%), 1,781 receiving yards (13.5/catch), 20 TDs, 5 drops | 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 TD | 2-for-2 passing, 15 yards (7.5/pass), 1 TD | 25 punt returns, 212 yards (8.5/return), 1 TD, 2 muffed punts | 6 special teams tackles | 2 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offset)

Accolades: Third-team All-Big Ten (2025), Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2024), Academic All-Big Ten (2025)

Born in Boise as the youngest of four brothers, Boston played high school football at Emerald Ridge in Puyallup, WA, and later joined the University of Washington as a three-star recruit. After playing only four games during his redshirt freshman campaign, and also seeing limited action in his second season — he was on a depth chart that featured Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and the aforementioned Ja’Lynn Polk — he took on a starting role in 2024 and quickly made his impact felt.

Over his two seasons as a starter for the Huskies, Boston caught 125 passes for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ran back a punt 75 yards for another touchdown, and threw a 12-yard TD. For his on-field exploits, he was twice honored with All-Big Ten recognition. He decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft.

Draft profile

Projected round: 1-2 | Consensus big board: No. 30 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: A tall wide receiver with a large catch radius and big hands, Boston looks like he was built in the X-receiver factory. He releases fluidly off the line when given space but also is powerful enough to counter jam attempts in man. Considering his size runs some impressively crisp routes; a long strider, he breaks with a purpose particularly on in-breaking routes and also can go through double and stutter moves without losing steam. At the catch point, he has shown a reliable pair of mitts — he had a drop rate of just 2.5% in college — as well as proper physicality, body control and concentration to be a contested catch receiver and box out defensive backs.

Despite his stature, Boston is not a one-dimensional receiver. He was mostly used on the perimeter and is comfortable playing the X, but also has had some encouraging moments as a Z or aligned in the backfield. When he gets the ball in his hands, he is a physical player who also is able to break tackles and gain extra yards. Without the ball, he is a willing blocker in the run game and therefore capable to be used on all three downs.

Weaknesses: Boston lacks the top-end speed to be a consistent deep threat; his success rate running go routes has been uneven and he is not the type of player to simply run through zone coverage or away from defenders in man. In general, he takes a second to get to full speed. He also is not an overly elusive receiver, who can just wiggle free or step out of tackles; instead, he relies on his physicality to beat man coverage on the line or gain yards after the catch. He will need to work on his release packages at the next level to reliably compete against better competition than he faced at Washington.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Even though there is some versatility to his game — more on that in a second — Boston primarily projects as perimeter receiver entering the NFL. In New England specifically, he would likely play a role similar to that of Mack Hollins: lining up as an X-receiver but also moving into other spot in order to create favorable matchups. In that capacity, he would be a rotational option with the definitive upside for a bigger job.

Does he have positional versatility? Boston lined up on the outside on 87.3% of his offensive snaps over his two seasons as a starter at Washington, and that is where he will spend most of his time in the pros as well. However, there is some flexibility to his game: he can line up both as an X and a Z, can be used as a big slot, can move into the backfield, and be a factor as a blocker as well. He also averaged 8.5 yards on 25 career punt returns, and scored a 78-yard touchdown in 2025.

What is his growth potential? His lack of top-tier deep speed might limit his ceiling in the NFL and prevent him from ever becoming a true WR1, but Boston still has a bright future ahead. If he can add to his release package to more consistently create separation against man coverage — something that doesn’t always need to happen given his size and catch radius — he very well could end up as a high-quality WR2.

Why the Patriots? With Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas (the latter being a bit less relevant for this particular conversation) all headed for unrestricted free agency in 2027, the Patriots might start looking for replacements sooner rather than later. Boston can be just that for the team, and more: he would provide a big-bodied, starter-level presence on the outside that will still be capable of stressing teams vertically even without truly elite speed.

Why not the Patriots? If the Patriots are indeed serious about pursuing A.J. Brown via trade, drafting Boston with their first-round pick would be a curious use of resources. As far as the 22-year-old himself, the team might also be looking for more of a field stretcher than he is coming out of college.

One-sentence verdict: Time will tell how high his ceiling truly is, but even right now Boston is a talented football player who could have a transformative impact from Day 1.

For more information about Denzel Boston 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 Boston 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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