NFL draft overthinking could lead to the Titans landing the perfect wide receiver prospect to complete Cam Ward’s renovated WR room

There was a time when we were expecting Denzel Boston to be long gone by the Titans’ second round pick. Now I’m beginning to wonder if they’ll steal him there.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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When I first started digging into the 2026 NFL draft class, I found myself wondering aloud: Why hasn’t Denzel Boston gotten more talk in media circles?

He was the consensus big board WR4 early in the cycle. The towering 6’4″, 212lb Washington receiver felt like a surefire first round pick once the annual run on WR began somewhere in the 20’s. He’s the kind of receiver that I’ve found most evaluators either love or hate. His style has to be your type. But the more of his tape I watched, the more confident I became in his ability to make the leap to the NFL and become a plug-and-play boundary threat for his next team.

Clearly, that’s a very split opinion in the draft community. And it may just lead to him falling into the Titans’ lap at pick 35.

Denzel Boston would fill out the Titans’ WR room perfectly

Let’s start with the negatives. The primary reason why Boston is knocked by his detractors is his lack of a second gear and deceleration out of breaks. How concerning is his lack of long speed? Will he even be able to separate in the NFL? These talking points have only been exacerbated throughout the draft process, as he has chosen not to run at the Combine or at Washington’s Pro Day.

He did post an impressive 37.5″ vertical jump at the pro day, a significant improvement over his Combine jump. There’s explosiveness there.

The haters look at this and say he isn’t running because he’s a clearly a 4.5 guy. He’s slow! And, yeah, probably. It doesn’t take a genius to see that long speed isn’t his bag on tape. That isn’t how he wins. And at least according to who the Athletic’s Dane Brugler talked to following his pro day workout, that isn’t a massive concern for a number of team reps who saw him out there.

So how does Boston win? What’s the sell?

Let’s start with the production. He managed 62 receptions, 881 yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns in his final season. He’s got a rare, true X frame to be a boundary threat and a large target in the redzone. Being a physically large target is sometimes overrated for guys who can’t capitalize on their frame with physicality, body control, and strong hands. But this is where Boston excels. He has some of the strongest hands I’ve ever seen in the draft. He has elite ball skills and proved himself to be a red zone mismatch consistently in college. The questionable QB play he was working with on tape last season acted as a pretty convenient test-case for Boston when it comes to how many different ball placements he can get to.

His size is obviously appealing, and to me, it’s part of the reason why he looks the way that he does on tape. I’m not here to tell you that he is actually some fantastic field-stretcher or route technician (yet), but I do think that these bigger, longer guys sometimes have an optical illusion element to their tape. That frame with those levers is going to look different to the naked eye getting in and out of breaks than a little human joystick archetype of receiver!

So what’s the upside if the Titans are lucky enough to have him fall into range for them at pick 35? From a frame standpoint, he is extremely similar to Courtland Sutton. I do think Sutton is a better natural separator than he is, and so a Michael Pittman comp for his playstyle may be more appropriate.

If Pittman doesn’t get you too amped, just remember the Steelers just traded for him to pay him a new, fat contract. And his play style has led to consistent production the past five years despite dubious and constantly shifting QB circumstances. The final part of what makes Boston such a nice fit for the Titans in my eyes is that he completes this WR room very nicely. A true X to threaten outside the numbers is an archetype they need, and the combination of Ward’s aggression and sometimes questionable accuracy to the deep boundary makes a player who is a big target with sure hands a perfect candidate for the role.

I’m still very skeptical Boston falls in the way he’s been talked about for the past month. I think NFL front offices will value the rare traits he brings to the table. But if he starts to get in range for Mike Borgonzi, you’ll be hearing me start to pound the table for putting this player in Cam Wards offense.

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