Washington WR Denzel Boston.

Hey, if the Bucs go defense in the first round, how about trying to replace a Bucs legend with a guy who has similar traits on Day 2?

You don’t really replace future Hall of Famers; you just hope the replacement plays strong enough so the loss of the legend doesn’t sting too much. And that could be a situation for the Bucs.

Joe still has bitter beer face over Mike Evans leaving. Yeah, the Bucs have aging Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka. But is there some law that the Bucs can’t bring in a receiver who has Evans’ qualities?

Joe is referring to Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston. He plays sort of like Evans (like a basketball player), high-points the ball like Evans and has excellent footwork along the boundary like Evans.

But he’s not Evans. Who is?

Still, what jumped out about Boston in Dane Brugler’s exhaustive draft guide, “The Beast,” is Boston had a 3.1 percent drop rate. That’s crazy good.

A two-year starter at Washington, Boston was primarily a perimeter receiver (81.3 percent of snaps aligned wide) in head coach Jedd Fisch’s offense. He joined a Huskies wide receiver room that included Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Germie Bernard and Ja’Lynn Polk, and he waited his turn before leading the team in receiving in both 2024 and ‘25. He was productive at every level of the field, especially near the goal line (14 of his 20 touchdown catches came in the red zone).

A good-sized athlete, Boston plays big and balanced with vacuum hands (3.1 percent drop rate). He treats the catch point like he’s a power forward in the paint, boxing out and using his rangy frame and focus to secure the football. Ball placement wasn’t a strength of Washington quarterbacks, which created opportunities for Boston to show off his catch radius. He doesn’t have the juice to simply run by NFL man coverage, and he won’t be known for his after-the-catch skills, but he is a proven chain-mover (79 percent of his 2025 catches resulted in either a first down or touchdown). Overall, Boston builds his speed with smooth, long strides and naturally adjusts with the hand strength of a ball winner, which should quickly earn him the trust of an NFL quarterback. With his ability to win inside or outside, his game has shades of 2025 Houston Texans draft pick Jayden Higgins.

Again, Joe is not saying Boston is Evans. That’s irresponsible.

Brugler believes Boston is, at worst, a second-round draft pick. That may be high for the Bucs since head coach Todd Bowles said you attack needs on the second day of the draft.

Not sure receiver is that big of a need, even though Evans is gone.

Denzel Boston 62 REC, 881 YDS, 12 TDs 2025 Season Highlights.

Projected first round pick WR.pic.twitter.com/MWnUOhQW9f https://t.co/zRhJMhrs2H

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) February 20, 2026