Round 3: The Carolina Panthers select WR Chris Brazzell II (Tennessee)

[carpanfan96]

6 minutes ago, TheBigKat said:

Isn’t this the Jimmy Horn Jr role?

He can run the full route tree and is a replacement for Coker. 

[Wolfcop]

4.37

[SgtJoo]

Chris Brazzell, WR, Tennessee

 

Brazzell went ham with a 6-177-3 game against Georgia in 2025. He Mossed Ellis Robinson in the middle of the field for one touchdown, burned Daniel Harris on a skinny post for the second, then Mossed Harris up the right sideline for the third. Sorry to use Mossed twice in the last sentence, but it paints the most accurate picture of the receptions.

Brazzell is bony and leggy at 6-foot-4. He ran a 4.37 Combine forty. He can do Mossy things on jump balls, going 19-of-33, 613 yards, 6 TDs on targets of 15+ air yards. He’s also surprisingly fluid and quick on slants, posts and digs. He dropped just two passes in 2025.

Brazzell’s a better prospect than Denzel Boston, a similar receiver who is slower, less developed as a route runner and less likely to make a leaping catch on an off-target football.

So why isn’t Brazzell ranked higher by other draft analysts? “Program scouting,” that dreaded scourge, may be part of the reason. Recent receiver prospects like Jalin Hyatt, Velus Jones and Cedric Tillman, not to mention quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton, have struggled to adjust to the NFL after playing in Josh Heupel’s pass-happy “veer-and-shoot” system.

Brazzell addressed the system question at the Combine. “This last year was a completely different offense than what y’all think Tennessee offense is,” he said. “I was really playing more regular, traditional offense last year.”

Brazzell later hedged those comments a bit. “I think it’s harder playing at Tennessee versus regular offenses. You cut on the sidelines, so it’s a little room for error. Once I’m playing in a traditional offense, not playing that far to the sidelines, I’ll get a two-way go. It makes it easier for me as a receiver.”

Maybe Brazzell was overstating the “completely” different offense, or comparing 2024 to 2025. Whatever. If you overlook a tall, fast, productive receiver with some polish in this draft class because of what happened to Jalin Hyatt, you are overthinking things.

NFL.com compares Brazzell to Christian Watson. I dig it.

https://miketanier.substack.com/p/life-gives-ya-lemons-nfl-draft-2026?open=false#§chris-brazzell-wr-tennessee

Edited April 25 by SgtJoo

[firefox1234]

This is a much needed pick to light a fire in the WR room. No free rides. If you stink you won’t play.

[45catfan]

I was hoping for more of a twitched-up slot guy.  Sklyer Bell was the one I was leaning towards.

[RJK]

Meh. We don’t have a QB on the roster who can stretch the defense so does it matter if they have a WR who can? 

[332nd]

Damn. 

The first three I'm really liking.

[tukafan21]

Maybe this means the team likes Horn Jr’s potential this year and he’s going to be the quick twitch guy playing in the slot a lot.

This then makes this pick a pure XL replacement and his role is as the guy to give T-Mac and Coker breathers while having big play potential when doing so.

Could also see him lined up in the slot next to T-Mac a lot and having him run go routes, would be a great way to keep the safety from doubling T-Mac because they have to protect against the speed.

[LinvilleGorge]

What I like about this pick is we're removing the excuses for Bryce. We've drafted the 2nd top 10 OT of Bryce's career. We've drafted two 1dt round WRs, and now a 3rd rounder. We've made the investments in the offense. If we're still at or near the bottom of the league offensively it's time to admit it and move on.

[Chief Keek]

I hope he pans out but I have a slight concern since he's coming from that Tennessee system. So far all of the WR from there have busted.

[Donald LaFell]

6 minutes ago, OnlyPantherFaninMaine said:

Unfortunately I don’t really feel like Bryce has the arm to maximize this guy’s potential and skillset. Primarily a deep ball guy, ran just a couple routes at Tennessee. Also has some off the field concerns but definitely a talented cat. 

Doesn’t seem like he separates much for a burner which is why a 40 for someone that tall is deceiving. If he’s slow out of the gate or his cuts he’s not going to look like a speedster. 

[Fenrir]

3 minutes ago, OnlyPantherFaninMaine said:

Unfortunately I don’t really feel like Bryce has the arm to maximize this guy’s potential and skillset. Primarily a deep ball guy, ran just a couple routes at Tennessee. Also has some off the field concerns but definitely a talented cat. 

I’m a Tennessee fan. The “WRs only run a couple of routes at Tennessee” narrative isn’t correct anymore. After getting demolished in a playoff game at Ohio State in 2024, Heupel changed the offense and ran a more NFL-style offense this past season due to DCs keying in on his wide spread route choice concepts he ran for the first 4 years at UT.

Brazzell thrived this season, ran good routes and improved greatly from his first year at UT. I think this is a great pickup for us.

[ClawOn]

15 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

Eh… like the 4.37 speed, but from the highlights they showed, it looks more like a straight line speed and not the quick shifty slot that we needed.

Just don’t see Bryce being able to take advantage of this type of weapon with his arm.

Maybe, just maybe, it's not Bryce they see throwing him the ball long term. 

[Tr3ach]

15 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

Eh… like the 4.37 speed, but from the highlights they showed, it looks more like a straight line speed and not the quick shifty slot that we needed.

Just don’t see Bryce being able to take advantage of this type of weapon with his arm.

Panthers only care about size and straight line speed.  Nothing else in receivers matters.