Denzel Boston entered the 2026 NFL Draft as a fringe first-round prospect on most people’s draft boards, but things didn’t pan out for the former Washington wide receiver on Thursday night. He wasn’t among the 32 players–five of which were wide receivers–drafted in Round 1.
The receiver run began early this year when the Tennessee Titans selected Ohio State’s Carnell Tate with the fourth overall pick. Tate earned second-team All-American honors in 2025 after tallying 51 catches, 875 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns. He’s set to enter Nashville as the new No. 1 option for Titans quarterback and former first overall pick Cam Ward.
Four picks later, the New Orleans Saints drafted Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 overall. Tyson, who was projected as a future first-round pick before ever becoming draft-eligible, is now headed to the Superdome, where he’ll look to fill out New Orleans’ receiving corps alongside second-team All-Pro honoree Chris Olave.
However, Round 1 started to get away from Boston from that point. No more wide receivers came off the board until USC’s Makai Lemon was selected by Philadelphia with the 20th overall pick. The Eagles may be about to lose star wideout AJ Brown, but the addition of the 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner will surely ease fans’ spirits.
Then, with the 24th pick, the Cleveland Browns selected KC Concepcion. The former Texas A&M Aggie is an exceptional run-after-catch threat, and as a Brown will give Cleveland’s offense a second young pass-catcher alongside tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
The fifth and final receiver taken in the first round was Omar Cooper, who was an essential piece of Indiana’s national title-winning squad. The Jets, who already added Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq to their league-worst passing attack, now have a wealth of pass-catchers to build around. They moved up three spots via a trade with the Buffalo Bills to take Cooper with the 30th overall pick.
The final two picks went by without any more wide receivers coming off the board. While Boston will surely be disappointed to fall outside the first round, it’s not the end of his professional journey. He’ll likely be one of the first players taken when Round 2 kicks off on Friday at 4 p.m. PST.
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