The Patriots enter another draft cycle where it's possible that they'll select a wide receiver to add to QB Drake Maye's supporting cast.

Removing the A.J. Brown-of-it-all for a moment, New England is returning the same wide receiver room with Romeo Doubs sliding into a high-volume role left behind by Stefon Diggs. Doubs is a savvy chain-mover whose inside-outside versatility should fit nicely into Josh McDaniels's offense. That said, there are several intriguing first-round and day-two targets for the Patriots.

This draft season, I felt myself gravitating toward more size and speed on the outside, giving Maye a legitimate field-stretcher who could stack outside corners and win Maye's perfectly thrown deep balls at the catch point. Maye's efficiency targeting receivers in that mold, like Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins, was off the charts last season, so why not add a similar receiver? I still have my eye on a few quick-twitch separators, which are usually more my cup of tea, but Maye's comfort level throwing to bigger downfield targets cannot be ignored.

With that in mind, here are my rankings of this year's wide receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Note: I base pro comparisons on playing style. When you watch this guy play, who does he remind you of and why? Don't look at them as setting expectations for career production.

Tier One - The Pipe Dream Who Might be Sliding During the Pre-Draft Process

This tier can be easily summed up by this: he's Batman. You can build a passing offense around this player; usually a projected top-20 pick.

1. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State (6-2, 203)

Consensus Rank: 14th, Pro Comparison: Amari Cooper

Tyson is having a complicated pre-draft process that could see a top-15 talent slide into a realistic range for the Patriots due to nagging injuries throughout his career at Arizona State. Tyson missed games in all four seasons in college, including injuring both hamstrings this past season, which has held him out of the pre-draft process. His durability concerns could give some teams pause, including the Patriots.

That said, Tyson runs routes like a much smaller receiver inside his 6-2, 203-pound frame. He is excellent at setting up corners early in the route and has high-end separation quickness that allows him to uncover. He can also play all over the formation to create mismatches, flashes great ball skills and a willingness to fight off defenders at the catch point, and has elite body control and late hands to adjust to throws off his frame. You wish there was a little more long speed and play strength to his game, but Tyson has WR1 potential.

Tier Two - Realistic First Round Targets for the Patriots (and 'My Guy' at WR)

A tier two receiver could be Batman, but is best cast as a high-end Robin. These are projected first-round or early second-round picks.

2. Denzel Boston, Washington (6-4, 212)

Consensus Rank: 30th, Pro Comparison: Courtland Sutton

Boston skipped the 40-yard dash amidst concerns about his top-end speed. However, the Washington product is a legit man-coverage beater due to his ability to gain favorable body positioning early in his routes and then finish as one of the best hands catchers in this class. Boston only had an 18% career contested target rate, the eighth-lowest among 23 draft-eligible receivers, suggesting he does create separation while posting an impressive 61.1% contested catch rate. He has great body control and strong hands to be thrown open by accurate downfield passers like Maye. Boston is also a double-move artist on stutter-and-go or post-corner, and a mismatch out of bunches/stacks, condensed splits, or as a big slot.

My main concern with Boston's profile, which finds him a tier below top receivers in this mold, such as Tetairoa McMillan and Drake London, is that he ranked in the 47th percentile in success rate against zone coverage, per Reception Perception. Boston doesn't have as complete a receiver profile as London or McMillan, but he's a much better mover than receivers at the other end of the spectrum, such as Keon Coleman or you know who (N'Keal Harry). Boston is comfortably a better prospect than the recent busts in this mold, in my opinion, and should succeed as a movable "X" receiver who primarily plays on the outside.

3. KC Concepcion, Texas A&M (6-0, 196)

Consensus Rank: 32, Pro Comparison: taller Zay Flowers

Concepcion is one of my favorite receivers in this class as someone who tends to gravitate towards elite separators. The Texas A&M product has stop-on-a-dime quickness to create huge amounts of separation in his routes and explosive plays after the catch. You can see the separation ability at the first two levels on whip-style routes, intermediate wins via slants or crossers, and he has the vertical juice to separate on fades and deep over routes. KCC is also extremely difficult to cover when afforded free releases by motion or alignment and has better contested catch ability than narratives would suggest (10-of-15).

The one knock on him is a high drop rate (10.3%), but my view is that it's less about having bad hands and more about Concepcion operating in high-traffic areas where he occasionally hears footsteps. Overall, Concepcion could be in the conversation with Tyson and the other top receivers in this class if his ball skills improve. His highlight reels are littered with him creating separation and making elusive open-field cuts to rack up big plays.

4. Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana (6-0, 196)

Consensus Rank: 24th, Pro Comparison: Khalil Shakir

Cooper is a very enticing prospect as a twitched-up route runner and an elite ball carrier. The Indiana product is one of the best YAC merchants I've studied in recent years, with running back-like contact balance, elusiveness, and play speed, forcing 27 missed tackles while averaging 7.2 YAC/catch last season. Cooper's staple downfield route is running deep outs into open zone voids or against out-leveraged corners. He also shows great awareness to sight-adjust as a "hot" receiver to beat blitzes as primarily a slot receiver.

However, there's room for Cooper to grow as a route technician. He'll telegraph routes and get stuck on defenders catching him in off-coverage. Cooper also played in an RPO-heavy offense for Indiana that created a lot of space for him to operate and ran over 83 percent of his routes from the slot. Overall, Cooper will step right in as a high-end zone beater, gadget player, and underneath catch-and-run threat, while his ability to beat man coverage is good enough to project him into a high-volume role.

5. Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee (6-4, 198)

Consensus Rank: 50th, Pro Comparison: Alec Pierce

Based on the consensus rankings, having Brazzell in this tier might be considered too high. However, my argument for it is similar to the discussion we had about Alec Pierce in free agency. As one of the best deep-ball throwers in the NFL, pairing Maye with a high-end field stretcher is extremely enticing. Brazzell's film vs. Georgia is one of the best game tapes of any receiver in this draft, flashing release quickness, vertical speed, sink-and-cut to break off intermediate routes, and high-point ability at the catch point to win the ball downfield.

Although his vertical route-running is his specialty, what sold me on Brazzell was his ability to change directions at the top of routes as a taller receiver. Brazzell can decelerate and sink his hips off vertical stems to separate on comebacks, deep (blaze) outs, digs, and skinny posts – rare for a 6-foot-4 receiver. Brazzell isn't a finished product and he'll need to add more mass to his frame to improve his play strength, but the marriage of skill sets between Brazzell and Maye makes the Tennessee product "my guy" in this class.

Tier Three - Round One Talent, But With an Injury Red Flag

A tier three receiver would've been a tier two receiver if it weren't for a major injury in college.

6. Chris Bell, Louisville (6-2, 222)

Consensus Rank: 51st, Pro Comparison: shades of A.J. Brown

Bell is a tier-two talent who suffered a torn ACL in his final collegiate game playing for Louisville last fall (Nov. 22). Bell is hoping to be ready for his rookie season, but the injury will put him behind the eight ball in his rookie camp, while it's fair to wonder if he'll get all his explosiveness back that his game is built around. If you want to see why Bell is an exciting prospect, turn on his tape vs. Miami, where he destroyed pursuit angles twice on shallow crossing routes for long house calls. Bell has electric play speed to turn slants and crossers into explosives, flashes release quickness vs. press-man, and makes high-end plays at the catch point on deep balls. When healthy, Bell was trending toward being a first-round pick.

Tier Four - Complementary Receivers (WR2 or WR3)

A tier four receiver is a candidate to be a top-three wideout on an NFL depth chart. These are projected day two or early day three draft picks.

7. Elijah Sarrett, Indiana (6-3, 210)

Consensus Rank: 75th, Pro Comparison: Jakobi Meyers

I'm a huge fan of Sarrett's game because he does everything well, even though he doesn't have elite top-end speed. He's not a burner, but the Indiana product knows how to get open as a crafty route-runner. He's a sudden mover for his size, wins on in-breakers, gets open by adjusting to the ball with great hands and body control, understands leverage and spacing, is a savvy red-zone target, moves the chains on third down, and has excellent competitive toughness and the clutch gene. Although he has a high contested target rate (28%), Sarrett has caught a whopping 58% of those contested targets. We've seen too many receivers succeed without elite speed to overlook Sarrett.

8. Germie Bernard, Alabama (6-1, 206)

Consensus Rank: 55th, Pro Comparison: Robert Woods

Bernard is considered a high-floor prospect because of his well-roundedness, alignment versatility, and great athletic profile (9.04 RAS, 4.48s 40). He creates chunk gains on intermediate in-breakers with efficient route breaks into the middle of the field and instincts to find soft spots in zones, while adding some juice after the catch. Plus, Bernard has played all over the formation, including in the backfield as a mismatch weapon (some compare him to D.J. Moore for this reason). However, you wish he had better success vs. man coverage (39th percentile). He needs to play better through contact (5-of-14 on contested catches) and be more dynamic in his stem work, but Bernard feels like one of the safer picks on day two.

9. Ted Hurst, Georgia State (6-4, 206)

Consensus Rank: 82nd, Pro Comparison: Christian Watson

Brazzell is my guy for the Patriots in the top-50, but Hurst is my favorite receiver for New England later on day two. As another big outside receiver with 4.42s-speed, Hurst has a legit second gear, great ball tracking ability, and the catch radius to run underneath or win deep balls. He can also turn underneath targets into explosive plays. His tape and the jump he's about to make in competition remind me of Watson coming out of NDSU. If he were playing at a bigger program, Hurst would be one of the most talked-about receivers in this draft.

10. Skyler Bell, UConn (6-0, 192)

Consensus Rank: 81st, Pro Comparison: Jayden Reed

Bell put up fantastic numbers for the Huskies last season (102 catches, 1,282 yards, 13 touchdowns). He dominated his level of competition, which is what you want to see, with dynamic route-running ability and good top-end speed (4.4s 40). He flashes some nuance as a route-runner, makes some great grabs in high-traffic areas working over the middle of the field, and has breakaway speed in YAC mode. Along with Reed, there are also shades of Stefon Diggs in his movements that are hard to ignore. That said, his ability to beat NFL-caliber press coverage and finish through contact will decide his fate in the pros.

Tier Five - Role-Specific Contributors (Complementary Receiver Upside)

If these receivers are put in positions to succeed, they have a chance to be top-three wideouts on an NFL depth chart like the tier four guys.

11. Bryce Lance, North Dakota State (6-3, 204)

Consensus Rank: 87th, Pro Comparison: D.J. Chark

Lance, who is the brother of Chargers QB Trey Lance, is another long-striding deep threat with an elite athletic profile (9.95 RAS, 4.3s 40). There are good moments of ball tracking, high-pointing, and the ability to snap off hitches and comebacks on his vertical stems. Lance needs to keep his pads down to hide his route breaks off his vertical stems and isn't a dynamic separator at the first two levels, but he has the tools to take the top off a defense.

12. De'Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss (6-2, 207)

Consensus Rank: 145th, Pro Comparison: Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Stribling was a late riser for me as a possible Patriots target at No. 95 or with their two picks in the fourth round. He has legit acceleration off the line of scrimmage to stack press-man corners with his 4.36-speed, tracks the ball well over his shoulder, and was used on some backfield motions that got the ball into his hands as a horizontal field-stretcher. Stribling is a bit too stiff to create separation on angular breaks at the first two levels, but he can succeed in an offense that gives him opportunities to use his instant acceleration to win foot races in different ways.

13. Antonio Williams, Clemson (5-11, 187)

Consensus Rank: 87th, Pro Comparison: taller Josh Downs

Williams ran over 93 percent of his routes from the slot at Clemson, making his projection as an outside receiver murky. On a positive note, he has dynamic movement skills to separate with wicked route breaks at the first two levels and run away from defenders on crossers. He'll need to cut down on the "TikTok routes" that use multiple fakes and stutters to get open, which take too long to develop. Plus, Williams' lack of long speed to win vertically and smaller frame suggest he'll be a slot-only receiver in the pros.

14. Ja'Kobi Lane, USC (6-4, 200)

Consensus Rank: 111th, Pro Comparison: Jayden Higgins

Lane has a crazy length (72nd percentile), 10.5" hands (97th percentile), and smooth long-striding speed that are a mismatch for the smaller corners he might line up against. His separation skills are poor because he's a one-speed runner who isn't overly physical, with a class-high 33% of his targets being contested, but he'll be a great red-zone threat and slant-winner who uses his frame and catch radius well to win while contested.

15. Malachi Fields, Notre Dame (6-5, 218)

Consensus Rank: 69th, Pro Comparison: Keon Coleman

Fields's bully ball style could translate to a jump-ball winner who can sell a fade route to open up underneath (hitches) targets and is a plus-run blocker. But he wears coverage due to his lumbering movements (4.61s-speed) even at the collegiate level, with a 27% career contested target rate. From this perspective, that's not usually a recipe for NFL success.

Tier Six - The 'Fast and…' Receivers

For those who listen to Catch-22, you know I can't quit these guys, but what do they bring to the table other than great speed? These are projected day-two or day-three receivers.

16. Zachariah Branch, Georgia (5-9, 177)

Consensus Rank: 70th, Pro Comparison: Mecole Hardman

There are some who believe there's more to Branch's game than purely a gadget player, but he's somewhere between Mecole Hardman (floor) and Wan'Dale Robinson (ceiling), which might be a worthwhile bet late on day two.

17. Deion Burks, Oklahoma (5-10, 180)

Consensus Rank: 96th, Pro Comparison: Isaiah Bond

Burks looks the part with an elite athletic profile (9.52 RAs, 4.3s 40) that flashes on tape, especially when he's running double moves. He also shows some headiness for curling around zone-droppers to find voids in the coverage as a QB-friendly target. Overall, you just kept waiting for it to click for Burks, as we did with Bond during his college career.

18. Kevin Coleman, Jr., Missouri (5-10, 179)

Consensus Rank: 153rd, Pro Comparison: Tre Tucker

Coleman is the best pure route-runner in this group with some high-end flashes on slot fades, crossers, and slants, where he has impressive burst to hit runways as a ball carrier. But he had a limited college route tree and slot-only usage (87.3%). Although he has less hype than Branch and Burks, he's probably my favorite receiver in this tier because there's some translatable route-running ability.

19. Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State (5-9, 164)

Consensus Rank: 116th, Pro Comparison: Calvin Austin III

Thompson is one of the fastest receivers I've ever studied with his 4.26s-speed. The Mississippi State product blew by SEC secondaries, which is impressive. He is tiny, though, and that's hard to overcome. Like Austin, he should be able to make a handful of big plays a season that give him some value on an NFL roster.

20. Jeff Caldwell, Cincinnati (6-5, 216)

Consensus Rank: 189th, Pro Comparison: Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Caldwell is a size-speed specimen, so to answer the "fast and…" part, Caldwell's answer would be fast and big. That said, he should be a better contested catch receiver at his size and needs to add branches to his route tree if he's going to develop into a viable NFL receiver.

​

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer