Two years ago, Denzel Boston was waiting his turn in a crowded UW Huskies wide receiver room that included the talented trio of Rome Odunze, Ja\u2019Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan. All three of those wideouts were early-round picks in the ensuing NFL Draft, led by Odunze at No. 9 overall.<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s Boston who\u2019s gaining some big-time draft hype.<\/p>\n
UW QB Demond Williams Jr. wins Manning camp event<\/a><\/p>\n Boston, who will be a redshirt junior for the Huskies this fall, is already projected to be a 2026 first-round pick by a pair of NFL Draft analysts. CBS Sports\u2019 Ryan Wilson has Boston going at No. 16 overall to the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> in his recent mock draft, while ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller has Boston going at No. 31 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>.<\/p>\n A local product out of Puyallup\u2019s Emerald Ridge High School, Boston had a breakout campaign last fall with 63 receptions for 834 yards and nine touchdowns. He\u2019s set to be UW\u2019s go-to receiver this season, with 2024 leading receiver Giles Jackson having graduated.<\/p>\n Denzel Boston\u2019s 8\ufe0f\u20e3 TD receptions pace the @bigten<\/a> \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n Watch each of the @UW_Football<\/a> WR\u2019s scoring grabs \ud83d\udc47#B1GFootball<\/a> x @dl_boston5<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qqggp2AjKM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 8, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Boston has a 6-foot-4, 209-pound frame, which he used to haul in 12 of 22 contested targets last season, according to Pro Football Focus<\/a>. His\u00a054.5% contested catch rate was tied for the 12th-best among Power Four wideouts with at least 20 contested targets.<\/p>\n Boston also has good speed for his size. He reached 22 mph last year, according to PFF\u2019s player tracking data<\/a>.<\/p>\n With his height and athleticism, Boston is drawing comparisons to Carolina Panthers rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan, who was the No. 8 overall pick in April\u2019s NFL Draft. PFF\u2019s Max Chadwick wrote<\/a> that Boston is \u201cthe Tetairoa McMillan of this year\u2019s class,\u201d while ESPN\u2019s Miller wrote that Boston\u2019s \u201cphysical, above-the-rim style is a lot like Tetairoa McMillan\u2019s style.\u201d<\/p>\n During Monday\u2019s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports\u2019 Brock and Salk, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard<\/a> discussed the attention that Boston is starting to attract.<\/p>\n Huard also mentioned the promising trio of skill-position players the Huskies have in Boston, running back Jonah Coleman and dual-threat quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Coleman is Chadwick\u2019s 46th-ranked draft prospect for 2026<\/a>, while the electrifying Williams could be poised for a breakout season in his first year as UW\u2019s full-time starting QB.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some star power, man,\u201d Huard said. \u201cThere\u2019s some draft capital on this roster. And with Demond Williams at QB, the momentum is certainly moving the right way as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link<\/a> or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.<\/p>\n UW Huskies unveil new football uniforms \u2013 details on what\u2019s changed<\/a><\/p>\n