Tennessee football has the potential to tie or break its record of five players drafted in the Josh Heupel Era. One of the breakout stars from last year’s team that is projected to be selected is wide receiver Chris Brazzell.
Currently, most projections have Brazzell being selected in either the second or third round. While you can find a mock draft that has him as high as a first-round pick, the majority see him as a day two pick, instead.
According to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., he’s a candidate to outperform his draft position, though. Kiper named him one of his favorite draft prospects for this year’s class in a list of 15 players. Brazzell joined Georgia’s Zachariah Branch as wide receivers on the list.
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“Brazzell might come off the board slightly after Branch — think late Round 2 or sometime during Round 3,” Kiper wrote. “But he has all the traits coaches want. He’s 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds. He runs a 4.37-second 40. He has a wide catch radius and knows how to adjust to poorly thrown balls to still make the grab. And the stats spell out all that: Brazzell caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and nine TDs last season, averaging 16.4 yards per reception.”
Brazzell proved to be one of the most reliable options and big-play threats in the SEC this past season. He totalled 1,017 yards on 62 receptions for a total of nine touchdowns. This included an incredible showing in the narrow home loss to Georgia, featuring 177 yards and three touchdowns on six receptions.
This was his second year at Tennessee. In his first, he was typically the first off the bench, coming up with the game-winning reception against Alabama at home. He started his career at Tulane.
