Vikings 2026 Draft Profile: Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II
For this 2026 Vikings Draft Profile, the spotlight will shine upon Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II.
The Fort Worth, Texas native is the son of a nine-year NFL and CFL pro and former 1998 sixth-round draft pick to the New York Jets, Chris Brazzell Sr. His NFL bloodline was at the heart of his strong high school football career in Midland. Brazzell II began his college career at Tulane after being labeled a top-200 high school player in Texas and a three-star prospect.
His first two years came at Tulane, where he was mostly quiet. Over those two years combined, he hauled in 45 receptions for 722 yards with 5 touchdowns. All but one catch for 11 yards came in Year 2 in 2023. Brazzell would hit the transfer portal and find a new home in Tennessee, where he would make a name for himself.
In two years with the Vols, Brazzell II combined for 1,400 yards on 91 receptions and 11 touchdowns.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Chris Brazzell II
Strengths:
- Natural understanding to manipulate various coverages with subtle body movements, stem variations, and explosiveness out of breaks
- Elite deep ball tracking, knows how to use his 6’5, 200 lbs frame to absorb contact while maintaining eyes and focus on the ball
- Combination of frame and body control makes him an almost impossible 1-om-1 coverage assignment
- Wins consistently at the catch-point, strong hands to fight away the ball from defenders
- Fluid hip-movement is not common in receivers of his size and stature; can sink into breaks on comebacks, curls, and hitches without false steps
- Natural release off the line that doesn’t need his size to succeed; well-timed hand-swipes and jab-steps fight press coverage off at the line
- Good boundary awareness and footwork aid in his already-polished ability to haul in receptions on the sideline
- Willing and decent run blocker
Weaknesses:
- His 200lb is a bit lean for his 6’5 frame; durability concerns are real as he missed most of his true freshman year at Tulane with a shoulder injury
- Susceptible to concentration drops, especially on underneath throws that require him to get his eyes up quickly to scan the field for RAC opportunity
- Lateral agility and sudden change of direction to be a legitimate threat after the catch isn’t quite there for the pro game
- Gets handsy and overly physical against corners that try to match his physicality, susceptible to OPI calls
- His ability against tight man coverage is unproven, unknown if he will be able to succeed against corners in the NFL that specialize in shadowing their assignments
Chris Brazzell II on the Minnesota Vikings
As with most receivers we’ll cover on these Vikings draft profiles, my hypothetical lineup is Justin Jefferson and Chris Brazzell II being the boundary receivers with Jordan Addison working out of the slot.
Jalen Nailor will be assumed gone in March until he does (or does not) depart these Vikings for a team willing to pay his asking price. It is also assumed that Brazzell II would enter a competition in camp for the WR3 role against the Vikings’ 2025 3rd round selection Tai Felton.
