Is Denzel Boston the Next Mike Evans? 2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report & SPS Grade

Updated May 22, 2026

Mike Evans was the No. 7 overall pick out of Texas A&M in the 2014 NFL Draft, taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be a true alpha with the size-and-hands cornerstone of a franchise. The Cleveland Browns just selected Washington wideout Denzel Boston with the No. 39 overall pick in Round 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Boston measured 6’4″, 212 pounds with 32-inch arms and 9 3/4-inch hands, and posted a class-leading 76.9% contested-catch rate in 2025 to go with an elite 3.1% drop rate.

Boston was the engine of a Washington offense. The public consensus had him going in Round 1 right up to draft week before the actual capital landed a tier below. But will Boston’s analytics signal that pick was a steal, or too rich? Further, will he score high enough to make the top 10 all-time WR SPS list?

The Film Breakdown: Pros & Cons

We all should be looking at both film and analytics as we know they go hand-in-hand. The following consensus film critiques are derived from looks into Boston’s game film. These highlight the positive and negative traits Cleveland just bought into with a Round 2 pick:

The Pros (The “Elite” Upside)

• Elite Hands and Catch Radius: PFF graded his hands a 9/10 and described him as a receiver who “maximizes a big catch radius with strong hands and good hand-eye coordination” with an 87.2 PFF receiving grade in 2025. (PFF)
• Outstanding Body Control and Ball Skills: Bleacher Report’s evaluation calls out his “outstanding body control and ball skills, which enable him to consistently win contested catches” – the trait Mike Evans has built a Hall-of-Fame career on. (Bleacher Report)
• Red-Zone Weapon: Bleacher Report also notes he is a “red-zone weapon on fade throws, getting his head and eyes around to the football quickly.” (Bleacher Report)

The Cons (The Refinement Needs)

• Lacks Top-End Speed: Bleacher Report writes that he “lacks second-gear or top-end speed to optimize early separation” and notes “the further down the field he is, the more his separation declines.” (Bleacher Report)
• Less Comfortable vs. Zone: PFF writes that “against zone, however, he is less natural at settling into soft spots and finding space.” That lack versatility is concerning to say the least. (PFF)

The Evans comparison is clearly tilted heavily toward the veteran on draft capital alone. Evans went No. 7 overall in 2014 with an alpha role waiting on him in Tampa Bay. Boston went 32 picks later in 2026 and walks into a Cleveland room where Jerry Jeudy is still penciled in at WR1, KC Concepcion arrived 15 picks earlier in Round 1 to handle the slot, and Cedric Tillman is still in the picture. The role profile that fits is the contested-catch outside target opposite Jeudy – a ceiling that is real, but capped in the short term by the indecisiveness of the QB room.

What Is Denzel Boston’s SPS Grade?

For those of you who aren’t familiar, The Star-Predictor Score (SPS) is a scouting tool designed to maximize investment potential and reduce risks when drafting rookies in Fantasy Football. It is proven to have a higher accuracy than draft capital alone to predict fantasy football success. The SPS includes 13 to 17 metrics, with the exact number varying by the player’s position. All metrics are pre-NFL – and some are proprietary to BrainyBallers – providing a complete analysis of a player’s analytical profile. The SPS gained widespread notoriety for its high accuracy, having made it on Barstool and The Pat McAfee Show. The SPS database can be found here, and future projected SPS grades can be unlocked here.

As the Pat McAfee crew noted when reviewing our top 10 all-time prospects graphic: “They haven’t missed… those are all the guys they predicted would be stars and they hit on all of them.” 

The Verdict

Can Denzel Boston’s path lead him to a featured boundary X for the Browns, now that Cleveland has staked the No. 39 pick on him? The film points to a real archetype – the contested-catch, red-zone-dominant boundary profile that Mike Evans career was built on. The landing spot has a defined role available opposite Jerry Jeudy, with KC Concepcion handling the slot underneath and the offense desperate for a target who can win on the boundary. The Star-Predictor Score (SPS) measures 17 pre-NFL metrics that separate dynasty WR1s from dynasty WR3s, independent of all subjectivity. The answer to where Boston’s official SPS grade falls is one click away. Is his profile built for the long haul?