![\"Denzel](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2241837173-e1775565704850.jpg\")
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University of Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston. <\/p>\n
With the No. 23 overall pick in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> have long been thought to be outside the range where the 3 surefire 1st-round wide receivers would fall: USC\u2019s Makai Lemon<\/a>, Ohio State\u2019s Carnell Tate<\/a>, and Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a bit of a plot twist, that\u2019s not necessarily going to stop the Eagles from still taking a wide receiver in the 1st round, with ESPN\u2019s Peter Schrager<\/a> predicting they will take University of Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston with the 23rd pick<\/p>\n \u201cBoston is electric, and Washington coach Jedd Fisch and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman are longtime college buddies,\u201d Schrager wrote on Tuesday in his 1st mock draft. \u201cSome NFL sources I have spoken to have Boston as the second or third wideout in this class. And if the Eagles take him, A.J. Brown<\/a>\u2018s future becomes all the more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n Schrager\u2019s mock drafts have long been held in a little higher esteem because of his approach, where he openly tries to take all of his own personal feeling and favorites out of the mix and goes strictly by what he\u2019s hearing either from or about where the teams are landing. So he gains extra points for being objective.<\/p>\n Huskies Continually Produce NFL Wide Receivers<\/p>\n Boston, 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, played behind future NFL wide receivers Rome Odunze<\/a>,\u00a0Jalen McMillan<\/a>, and\u00a0Ja\u2019Lynn Polk<\/a>\u00a0his first 2 seasons before becoming a starter in 2024, and had a breakout season with 62 receptions for 881 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games in 2025.<\/p>\n Over his last 2 seasons, Boston had 125 receptions for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns.<\/p>\n \u201cDenzel Boston checks a lot of the boxes \u2026 \u201d The Dirty Dawgs wrote<\/a> on its official X account. \u201d \u2026 Size. Physicality. Toughness. Ball skills.\u201d<\/p>\n Lofty Comparison to NFL All-Pro Wide Receiver<\/p>\n NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein<\/a>\u00a0compared him to another former Washington wide receiver in\u00a0Puka Nacua<\/a>, a 2-time\u00a0NFL<\/a>\u00a0All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL in receptions in 2025.<\/p>\n Nacua, who finished his career at BYU, was a 5th round pick (No. 177 overall) by the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a02023 NFL draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c(Boston) is a two-year starter with elite ball skills that should supersede athletic\/speed limitations,\u201d Zierlein wrote. \u201cA\u00a0Puka Nacua<\/a>\u00a0comparison might feel strong, but like Nacua, Boston enters the draft with speed\/separation concerns and outstanding competitive toughness. Boston gets off the line with good burst and maintains his top speed throughout the route. He could have issues beating press, but releases can also be schemed. He\u2019s very skilled when it comes to winning jump balls and contested throws. Boston also knows how to win in the red zone. Acclimating to NFL competition could take a year, but Boston has the makeup to become a productive possession target with above-average red-zone value.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagles Preparing for Massive Move on Offense<\/p>\n The Eagles seem like they are headed toward trading 3-time NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has openly expressed his displeasure with Philadelphia\u2019s offense over the last 2 years.<\/p>\n While the Eagles aren\u2019t in a position to trade Brown before June 1, if they do take a wide receiver in the 1st round, we can take that as a clear signal Brown is about to be on the move via a trade.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Eagles\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty University of Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston. With the No. 23 overall pick in the 1st round…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":859003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,7,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-859002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","13":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116363733107345117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}