Meet Chris Brazzell II: What to know about Carolina Panthers draft pick WR
The Carolina Panthers finally added a weapon for Bryce Young in this year’s draft.
And a fast one at that.
Here are five things to know about Chris Brazzell II, the Panthers’ third-round pick in the NFL Draft (No. 83 overall).
Chris Brazzell is a ‘favorite’ of Dave Canales
The Panthers were not coy about how happy they were to acquire Brazzell. In fact, as head coach Dave Canales told reporters after the pick, the 6-foot-4, 198-pound speedster was “one of my favorite players in the draft.”
The 22-year-old wide receiver spent two years at Tulane and then broke out at Tennessee the last two years.
“Just his film over the last two years, when you look at Tulane and you look at Tennessee and combine all of it, you’re going to get a full picture of a route tree,” Canales said. “Body control. Ability to do those things. And of course just the ability to stretch the field, and really put stress on teams from a vertical standpoint.
“We weren’t expecting Chris to be there. We were sitting there, waiting, and he just kept dropping right to us. And what a great opportunity for us to just, again, add to that room. Another element. Another dimension. And create a competitive roster.”
He’ll inject speed into receiver room
Speaking of that roster, Brazzell joins a young wide receiver room and could make an impact from the jump.
The group, in so many words, needed speed. Particularly the kind of speed that can result in passes 20-plus yards down the field. Jimmy Horn Jr. is remarkably quick, but his average depth of target wasn’t all that deep and his opportunities in general were limited his rookie year. Xavier Legette was fast in the NFL Scouting Combine in 2024 but hasn’t been able to showcase that linear speed much in his two years in the NFL. And Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker — though they had breakout campaigns in 2025 — aren’t known for burnout speed.
Fortunately, Brazzell is.
He ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash in February — and has plenty of tape to show that he can haul in the deep pass as well. He notched 62 catches for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025; that’s 16.4 yards per catch. According to Pro Football Focus, Brazzell averaged a 15.7 average depth of target, only had two drops and a career-high 244 yards after catch.
He notched a catch of over 20 yards in eight of 14 weeks.
“We’ve seen how we’ve been able to use Xavier, TMac, Jalen with all the intermediate stuff,” Canales said. “And we’ve gone down the field a little bit. And taken some opportunities. But I think about the space created when they know this is a real burner. And what that does to safeties, what that does to corners, just creating space for the whole group.”
He loves Cam Newton
Brazzell out of Midland, Texas, considers himself a longtime Panthers fan. He hasn’t been to a Panthers game, but he watched the wonder of former Panthers great QB Cam Newton from afar, he told reporters Friday.
“Cam Newton was just a good teammate,” Brazzell said. “You saw him giving the (touchdown footballs) to the kids during the games, great guy. And shoot, just his celebration. Just him getting in his own gap, hitting the Superman, just him being a fun guy to watch made me fall in love with him.”
Son of former NFL player and a hooper ... and his brother was his Volunteers teammate
He’s coming from a pretty remarkable family.
His father, also named Chris, was selected in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Chris played on the Jets’ practice squad and then played two seasons with the Cowboys before making a career in the Canadian Football League.
His mother, Monique, played college basketball at Angelo State.
And his brother, Colin, is a corner at UT and got a chance to play together last season.
Brazzell thinks Bryce Young is the most underrated QB in the league
Brazzell is going to like playing with his new quarterback.
Even if he went to a rival college.
“I went to Tennessee, he went to Bama,” Brazzell said. “No shade, but I remember watching Bryce Young in 2022 when Tennessee beat Bryce Young. Bryce Young was balling though. Bryce Young a baller. He’s probably the most underrated quarterback in the league. I just want to take the stress off his shoulders.”
