2026 Draft: WR

[manxman2601]

Is Denzel Boston the Mack Hollins replacement in this draft should it be needed? Size, blocking, contested catches.

 

[Clonamery]

Is Denzel Boston the Mack Hollins replacement in this draft should it be needed? Size, blocking, contested catches.

You mean our 1st pick?

 

[manxman2601]

You mean our 1st pick?

I would have to be. I'm not saying we should do it. I do think, of all our current WRs, Mack Hollins is probably the most expendable and if Vrabel was too choose to add to the WR room, Boston is most likely to give us what Hollins does in terms of blocking and being the big bodied contested catch receiver.

I'm not advocating for it, just noting the similarities in terms of style.

 

[p8ryts]

I would have to be. I'm not saying we should do it. I do think, of all our current WRs, Mack Hollins is probably the most expendable and if Vrabel was too choose to add to the WR room, Boston is most likely to give us what Hollins does in terms of blocking and being the big bodied contested catch receiver.

I'm not advocating for it, just noting the similarities in terms of style.

I know this is the wr forum but if we don't go Oline or Defense on early picks I will be disappointed. Fill in the rest of the building blocks at the top of the draft and by 27 the team should be solid.

 

[manxman2601]

I know this is the wr forum but if we don't go Oline or Defense on early picks I will be disappointed. Fill in the rest of the building blocks at the top of the draft and by 27 the team should be solid.

I agree, but this team lives and dies with Drake Maye. If the team thinks giving him weapons is the right way to go, I'm fine with it especially with this class. It should also be said that the draft isn't super strong at the top for pass rush or O Line with a handful of exceptions but the WR class is very good.

I'm fine with the WR room as it currently is through 2026/7, particularly the chemistry, but after that, Hollins is out of contract, Diggs may be declining and a decision needs to be made about Boutte and Pop. Yes we have Williams and Chism but I can see why adding another WR from this excellent class has merits.

But you're right, defense and OL are the priorities.

 

[mayoclinic]

FWIW:

Mike Vrabel should be licking his chops over landing these 2026 NFL Draft risers

Even with the emergence of Kayshon Boutte and the offseason addition of Stefon Diggs, there’s no such thing as too many weapons for Drake Maye. Diggs turns 32

musketfire.com

 

[manxman2601]

 

[mayoclinic]

Cooper one of my sleepers at WR.

 

[manxman2601]

Cooper one of my sleepers at WR.

He has had two drops though apparently. He is good though.

 

[mayoclinic]

Penn St. interim HC Terry Smith, after being torched by the dynamic Ohio St. WR duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate:

“They're the two best guys in the country, just watching these guys live,” Smith said. “I don’t mean this disrespectfully to the past Ohio State receivers, these two are better than all of them, and those guys are all good. So they put it on film and they were outstanding. Today, we could not cover them.”

Ohio State WRs Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, torch Penn State secondary in blowout

COLUMBUS, Ohio. — On Ohio State’s first drive coming out of the half, wide receiver Carnell Tate hauled in a 57-yard pass from quarterback Julian Sayin to set up a

www.psucollegian.com

 

[Dec54]

Penn St. interim HC Terry Smith, after being torched by the dynamic Ohio St. WR duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate:

Ohio State WRs Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, torch Penn State secondary in blowout

COLUMBUS, Ohio. — On Ohio State’s first drive coming out of the half, wide receiver Carnell Tate hauled in a 57-yard pass from quarterback Julian Sayin to set up a

www.psucollegian.com

Praise indeed.

 

[manxman2601]

If you think about it, we need to, at least, draft or sign 1 or 2 WRs this off-season for pre-season. We currently only have Chism, Williams as pre-season WRs. John Jiles and Jeremiah Webb may be out of contract at the end of the year. Jiles will be an ERFA.

 

[mayoclinic]

Louisville's rising superstar just shot up Mel Kiper's updated NFL Draft Big Board

Louisville football has seen many players step up this season to help the Cards boast a 7-1 record, but Chris Bell has emerged as a superstar. The 6-foot-2, 225

bigredlouie.com

 

[manxman2601]

File under 2028 watch list.

 

[manxman2601]

I was looking through James Foster's big board and I noticed he has some 3-cone information. Not a lot, it's far from everyone, but I'll share what there is for WRs here and for EDGE in that thread. I don't know what the source is, but it's a useful indicator.

Eric Rivers - 6.74
KC Concepcion - 6.76
Makai Lemon - 6.79
Ja'Kobi Lane - 6.92
Chris Bell - 6.94 (excellent for someone 220lb).
Jordan Tyson - 6.98
Carnell Tate - 6.99
Nyck Harbor - 7.01
Denzel Boston - 7.07

Note - It's not a 3-cone, but Bryce Lance has a VJ of 40 and a BJ of 130.


If these are close to correct, what an excellent class at the tp. Concepcion and Lemon come as promised. And theirs no linear X receivers in that group either. Lane was a pleasant surprise.

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[Hugepatsfan]

It will be interesting to see how they approach the WR position. Diggs/Boutte/Hollins/Douglas/Williams all under contract for next year, as well as Chism. If you assume they still like Williams relative to his draft slot, then there's kind of diminishing returns on any WR drafted unless he's a clear cut, day 1 starter. If you add another depth type guy, at least in the short term, then its kind of a jumbled mess of a depth chart.

Just something to consider when you start talking about 3rd round and on type of WRs.

 

[manxman2601]

It will be interesting to see how they approach the WR position. Diggs/Boutte/Hollins/Douglas/Williams all under contract for next year, as well as Chism. If you assume they still like Williams relative to his draft slot, then there's kind of diminishing returns on any WR drafted unless he's a clear cut, day 1 starter. If you add another depth type guy, at least in the short term, then its kind of a jumbled mess of a depth chart.

Just something to consider when you start talking about 3rd round and on type of WRs.

They'll need a couple for the PS though so round 6 or later is a possibility.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

They'll need a couple for the PS though so round 6 or later is a possibility.

Yeah once you get that late it doesn't really matter because they'll all dart throws if we're being honest. You can't get too picky in that range trying to target a specific position when it's already an upset if the guy's is even on the team for more than a year or two.

I guess I mean more in that 3rd-4th and maybe stretch to 2nd-5th round type range really where you're looking at a lot of guys who you fully expect to make your team even if they aren't day 1 contributors and you have to weigh how that fits into your depth chart. If you draft a guy in the 3rd round and he has a Kyle Williams type rookie year but you move on from Hollins or Doulas to accommodate his roster spot then it actually hurts you in the short term.

We kind of saw an example of this with letting go Kendrick Bourne and keeping Kyle Williams this year. It made sense to add a younger WR to the mix and a bad rookie year (so far) doesn't mean it won't ultimately be a good pick, but the cold hard truth is that it made the 2025 Pats a worse team. And now that we're looking like a playoff team trying to build on that, you have to be somewhat conscious of that.

 

[manxman2601]

Yeah once you get that late it doesn't really matter because they'll all dart throws if we're being honest. You can't get too picky in that range trying to target a specific position when it's already an upset if the guy's is even on the team for more than a year or two.

I guess I mean more in that 3rd-4th and maybe stretch to 2nd-5th round type range really where you're looking at a lot of guys who you fully expect to make your team even if they aren't day 1 contributors and you have to weigh how that fits into your depth chart. If you draft a guy in the 3rd round and he has a Kyle Williams type rookie year but you move on from Hollins or Doulas to accommodate his roster spot then it actually hurts you in the short term.

We kind of saw an example of this with letting go Kendrick Bourne and keeping Kyle Williams this year. It made sense to add a younger WR to the mix and a bad rookie year (so far) doesn't mean it won't ultimately be a good pick, but the cold hard truth is that it made the 2025 Pats a worse team. And now that we're looking like a playoff team trying to build on that, you have to be somewhat conscious of that.

There are three possibilities where I think they might consider a WR.

1. A physical drop off in Digg's play or they want out of his contract which I believe is possible after this year.

2. Kayshon Boutte doesn't want to extend but prefers to hit the open market.

3. They think they can upgrade on Hollins.

Personally I don't think any of those are likely given the chemistry in the WR room and their success with Maye.