Chris Brazzell emerged with the Tulane Green Wave in 2023, and now, he’s a top 2025 NFL Draft prospect for the Tennessee Volunteers, with a scouting report that commands attention.
What does Brazzell bring to the table as a potential NFL talent, and how has he grown thus far playing at Tennessee?
Chris Brazzell II’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Tennessee
- Current Year: Redshirt Sophomore
Son of a former CFL star wideout and New York Jets 1998 sixth-round pick of the same name, Brazzell is on track to solidify that legacy on the professional stage.
A three-star recruit out of Midland Legacy High School in Midland, Texas, Brazzell joined Willie Fritz’s 2022 recruiting class at Tulane. He caught just one pass in 2022 before redshirting due to a shoulder injury. And he opened 2023 strictly as an ancillary weapon.
Things would soon change, however. Over the course of the 2023 campaign, Brazzell became a premier playmaker for Michael Pratt and Co. In 13 games, Brazzell caught 44 receptions for 711 yards and five scores, eclipsing 16.0 yards per catch.
Brazzell ultimately leveraged his performance as a redshirt freshman into a transfer opportunity at Tennessee, where he’s enjoyed the opportunity to play with one-time five-star quarterback and potential 2026 NFL Draft prospect Nico Iamaleava.
Brazzell’s 2024 campaign has gotten off to a relatively slow start. In three weeks, he’s recorded 10 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. There are a lot of mouths to feed in Tennessee’s offense, but Brazzell has maintained a presence, nonetheless.
In spite of his non-elite production, the sky is the limit with Brazzell’s tools. He has a unique skill set for his size, and that skill set could, in turn, make him a valuable weapon at the NFL level. His scouting report has all of the minute details.
Brazzell’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Boasts an extremely tall and long build with lean and efficient mass.
- Easy accelerator with superb explosiveness out of breaks and on the vertical plane.
- Has logic-defying energy, twitch, and foot speed in short areas, which he uses to offset.
- Flashes great stop-and-start ability and hip sink when breaking on multi-layered routes.
- Rare size-adjusted fluidity and bend allow him to make himself available consistently.
- Unnaturally nuanced separator for his age with spatial IQ, throttle control, and discipline.
- Can use intentional eyes and feign tracking to bait defenders into oversetting stems.
- Can use chops and rips to pry past DBs at stems while bending and accelerating upfield.
- Can make high-difficulty adjustments at a moment’s notice, converting with diamond hands.
- Expertly tracks passes over his shoulder against crowded coverage, flowing to the ball.
- Flashes the coordination, body control, and hand strength to win in contested situations.
- Extremely cool and composed in clutch situations, even working against direct contact.
- Actively uses length and frame to compound catch-point separation while keeping focus.
- Fluidity and nuance translate to RAC and all-encompassing alignment versatility.
- Flashes prying play strength after the catch and can scrape through arm tackles.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t have great overall mass and density for his size and is relatively light.
- Could stand to improve his play strength a bit, to more consistently decouple at stems.
- Visibly lacks elite top-end vertical speed, which can impact his ability to sustain stacks.
- Hip sink, while exceptional for his size, can be prone to fluctuations on comeback routes.
- Occasionally loses sync with his hips and feet and chops too early on stride retractions.
- On occasion, can more proactively manipulate DB blind spots while working vertically.
- Sometimes needs a few extra steps to fully decelerate and hinge around on comebacks.
- With his build, naturally doesn’t have the low center of gravity to infuse contact balance.
- Is a willing, high-energy blocker with great tools, but could improve angle positioning.
- Sometimes overshoots blocks in space, allowing defenders paths to impact the ball.
- Redshirted due to a shoulder injury, and light frame could invite durability questions.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
At this point in the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Brazzell grades out as a top-75 prospect, who could field Round 1 consideration with a productive year at Tennessee. Currently, he’s worthy of early-to-mid Day 2 capital, but he can be one of the best WRs in the class.
If his 2023 tape at Tulane was any indication, Brazzell’s potential in Josh Heupel’s offense remains exciting, particularly with Iamaleava throwing him the ball. Not only is Brazzell extremely talented, but he’s nuanced, competitive, and locked in beyond his years.
At 6’5″, 200 pounds, Brazzell has unnatural short-area quickness and fluidity, which he already uses in a proactive manner as a separator and spatial manipulator at multiple levels. He has a good route tree and a working release arsenal, and he brings alignment versatility.
Going further, Brazzell has the long-strider acceleration to chew up ground out of his stance. At the catch point, he’s an incredibly reliable asset with high-level tracking ability, contortion freedom, body control, hand-eye coordination, and resolve.
Brazzell is more fluid than fast, which shows up as a limitation on the vertical plane at times. Additionally, there are a few aberrations to clean up in his route running. But he’s incredibly impressive as is, as both a big-play threat and a chain-mover over the middle.
To top it off, Brazzell has an inspiring profile as a versatile utility WR and a high-effort blocker with range, strength, and physicality.
At the moment, Brazzell projects as a potential WR2 and playmaking movement Z receiver, but he has the tools, natural nuance, versatility, and conversion ability to eventually grow into a WR1 and impact starter.
