Denzel Boston Q&A: Elite Draft Prospect Talks Top NFL Receivers, Career Journey

Denzel Boston could emerge as the best wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-4 receiver from the University of Washington may not have the accolades or hype of wideouts such as Ohio State's Carnell Tate or USC's Makai Lemon, but he has the build and physicality that could very well make him a force at the NFL level.

The 22-year-old spent the first two years of his collegiate career as a secondary receiver playing behind the likes of eventual NFL receivers such as Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk. However, he emerged over the past two years as a star, posting 20 total touchdowns. Boston's 11 touchdowns last season ranked ninth overall in the country.

Boston is considered a top-five wide receiver prospect in this year's draft and has been compared to Los Angeles Rams standout Puka Nacua. Nacua has emerged as one of the best receivers in the NFL early in his career, posting two All-Pro seasons during the first three years of his career.

If Boston comes anywhere close to that comparison, he'll make the team that drafts him proud.

The future NFL receiver took time to speak to Athlon Sports about a wide range of topics, including the receivers he admired, advice he's received from Odunze, how he compares to former NFL wideout Chad Ochocinco and his partnership with PayPal.

Also see:
● Denzel Boston Scouting Report
● Easterling/Farrar: Updated First-Round Mock Draft
● Easterling's Top 300 draft prospects
● Athlon Sports NFL Draft hub

[Editor's note: The following transcript has been lightly edited for readability.]

Q: You're about to start your NFL career. You're getting ready for the NFL Draft. Talk about your experience over at the combine. How was that?

Boston: The experience at the combine was great. Just like being able to be around a whole bunch of guys that are also trying to all make the same goal and then the interviews were fun. Getting to meet a whole bunch of different GMs, different teams, just the whole thing as a whole was very fun when it comes to the interviews. The workout was the workout, but the whole week was, it was a great week. It was a long week, don't get me wrong. It was a long week, but it was also a great week. It was a good time as well.

Q: It's a lot of talk and a lot of meetings. I know you grew up a Seahawks fan, so out of curiosity, did you meet with anybody from the Seahawks? Did you have any notable meetings with any specific teams?

Boston: I definitely had meetings with the Seahawks at the combine, after the combine, after pro day. I've had some good meetings with them. I've had a couple of notable meetings with I'd say the Panthers, the Steelers, the Niners, the Jets, for sure and the Miami Dolphins. I've had some great talks with the Commanders. I've had some great talks with a lot of GMs and coaches. I'm feeling good heading into this.

Q: Sounds like a lot of teams are interested in you. But if you were to land with your hometown team, your favorite team growing up, the Seahawks, what would that mean to you? What do you think of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, widely considered the best receiver in the NFL?

Boston: If Seattle were to pick me, I'd be ecstatic. I've been in Seattle for the past 14 years of my life. It's been great. And being in Seattle, staying around that area would be nice. My family could always come to every home game. It would be very seamless for the people around me, my community to have a big support system out there. It would be great.

And then with Jaxon, he's that guy right now. I love to go play side by side with him, get to learn a little bit from him. Just be able to go compete with him. It would be a great time. He's been balling.

Q: Have you gotten the chance to speak to JSN?

Boston: No, I haven't had a chance to speak to him at all. He went to Ohio State; I was at Washington. But then he went to Seattle through the draft. When I was there at campus, I never saw him or anything like that. I believe he was probably doing a trip or getting some training somewhere else.

Q: You played behind Rome Odunze. He's a heck of an NFL player right now. Have you received any notable advice from current players? Is there anything that stands out to you?

Boston: I think the biggest thing that stands out is being ready to take advantage of your opportunity. That's what I hear from a lot of them. Understanding that every walkthrough, every practice, everything you're doing is always going to take into account what you get to do on game days and what you get, and what your role is going to be on that team.

Q: Has Rome said anything to you as of late, given you any advice as you begin your NFL career?

Boston: For sure, I trained with Rome. We're with the same agency. I trained with Rome a little bit before I left for my combine training. His biggest thing that he was saying to me is once you get there, just be ready. Be prepared. Make sure you're in that playbook. Make sure you're eating right, and make sure that you just have an understanding of what business you're going into and go make the most of it.

Q: You're a big guy. You're a physical receiver. You're a red zone threat. Who were the receivers that you looked up to? How did you mold your game?

Boston: When I was young, it was definitely all about Julio Jones, a little bit of Calvin Johnson. He retired a little early for his career, but those two definitely. As I got older, the people I've studied is Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Nico Collins. Those are guys I try to replicate and use their moves to my advantage when I can.

Q: The Niners were one of the teams you mentioned. They just got Mike Evans. What would it be like getting to learn from arguably the best receiver of his generation?

Boston: It would be surreal, watching a guy that's put up [11] 1,000-yard seasons and getting to learn knowledge from him, getting to not just be an understudy, but playing alongside of him, but also follow him around the facility, understand his habits and routine that's kept him in the league for so long and so fresh, competing and putting up those stats for so long. It would be great. It would be awesome.

Q: What would be the first thing you would ask him?

Boston: How are you able to sustain such a great career as a receiver, knowing all the little dinks and dunks, hamstrings that happen, AC joints and all those types of things. What does he do on a day-to-day basis to make sure that he keeps his body up?

Q: If I were to ask you to compare yourself to either a current or former receiver, who would you say?

Boston: I would compare myself to Mike Evans. I think our game is very similar. We played in different conferences, in a different time when it comes to college. But I feel like we have a very similar play style, a very similar way of attacking the ball. So definitely him.

Q: Where is one area where you want to be better as you start out your NFL career? Is there a trait that you can think of?

Boston: For me, that would be just my releases. Just making sure that my releases are tight and synced with my hands. That's one area I definitely want to come in and just have down fluent.

Q: What's your best trait? You're a physical receiver. Would you say that you do really well when you're battling with defensive backs for balls?

Boston: I think I do very well in that. I think my best trait is just the way I play the game. I feel like I play it right. When it comes to just coming down, if I need to go smack the safety, I'm gonna go smack the safety. If I need to go get up and get that ball, I'll go get that ball. I'll say those are the best traits. That's my best choice is how I play the game and how I approach it each and every game, each and every day I practice.

Q: You're going to be going up against some great defensive backs. Is there a specific cornerback or safety that you're looking forward to going up against?

Boston: Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II. I can't wait to go up against the top. I'm always there to compete. I'm excited that I'm going to be able to step on the field with those guys.

Q: Are you a trash talker? Do you get competitive when you're on the field? Do you start talking a little bit of trash, or do you let your game do the talking?

Boston: I let my game do my talking. But we can talk trash if you want to talk trash, you know. If you want to start something, we can for sure get into it, get a little chippy.

Q: Would you say you have a lot of personality?

Boston: For sure, you have to as a receiver — especially unwavering confidence, you can't let one little thing upset you and throw you off your game.

Q: Was there a certain receiver where you just loved his personality? Were you a Terrell Owens fan by any chance?

Boston: Oh, definitely. Used to watch a lot of Terrell Owens clips, you know? Yeah, he had a great personality.

Q: If you were to compare your personality to a receiver, who would it be?

Boston: A part of me wants to say Chad Ochocinco. I just liked the way he used to talk. He's always open. He would always say he's open. So definitely Ochocinco, Chad Johnson.

Q: I like that. I know this all kind of depends upon where you end up, but do you have any concrete rookie season objectives in your mind?

Boston: Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, all those things are really cool. But I think as a rookie coming in, the biggest thing is just making the most out of your opportunities and putting together a complete season, staying healthy. Those are my main objectives heading into it right now

Q: You played at a big time program at Washington. What's the biggest thing you learned in college?

Boston: The biggest thing I learned in college would definitely have to be the fact for two years I was under some great receivers. The biggest thing I learned in college was how much it takes to be a part of this game. Because going through high school, I didn't go to a private school or big football school in high school, so I didn't really understand it.

But once I got to college, the guys that I had in front of me — Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Ja'Lynn Polk — those guys showed me the way, showed me how much work it really takes to get to a certain level. I say patience, because I had to stay patient. I could have tried to transfer out and go somewhere else and do something, but that wouldn't have led to the path that I'm on now.

Denzel Boston photo gallery

Q: I like that answer. What's gonna be your first big purchase after you sign your rookie contract?

Boston: I think my first big purchase will probably be a car. I'm a person who likes cars. I love engines. I'm not big into electric cars. I won't be getting no Tesla or anything like that, but I'm for sure gonna be getting a new car.

Q: Is there a specific brand that you're thinking of or model?

Boston: Yeah, for sure. I'll probably use PayPal to make that wire transaction.

Q: Are you a small car or a big car guy?

Boston: Right now I have a sports SUV. I'm looking to get a sedan, more of a sports kind of car. Some mornings you might wake up feeling a little different than others. So just want to be able to have a little switch up.

Q: Is it something modest or is it gonna be expensive?

Boston: It's not gonna be something over the top, and it's not gonna be modest. It's gonna be a little chunk of change, but it'll be worth it. It'll be an asset.

Q: What type of music do you like? What type of music pumps you up for a game?

Boston: For me, it's rap. I love to listen to rap. A few artists are G Herbo, BabyFxce E, Lil Baby, Gunna — a whole bunch of artists that I like to listen to to get me ready and in that kill mode.

Q: So you like the newer rappers?

Boston: Yeah, I'm more of a new rapper guy. But don't me wrong, I'll listen to my 50 Cent, Tupac, a little bit of Snoop Dogg and them throwbacks — "Gin and Juice" — and all those things as well.

Q: Tell me what you're doing with PayPal.

Boston: We're just doing a nice partnership to not only bring awareness and show how I use PayPal in my day-to-day life, but also bring awareness to the fans. Football doesn't really evolve without the fans. They're kind of the ones that are the driving force. Having an understanding of what they do and all the different things that you have to take into account to make it to a game or have parties and stuff like that. Just showing them different ways to use PayPal to their advantage.

Q: I'm going to guess you've used PayPal a lot?

Boston: For sure. PayPal is definitely my No. 1 sending source when it comes to money. Just being able to send money to my grandma, my mom, my dad, and not only that, using it for let's say you have a party. You got the pool feature where you just throw money into a pot, and you just utilize that.

Q: I'm going to guess that you've probably filmed or are going to film some interesting social media stuff? There's some notable names there with Caleb Downs and Jeremiyah Love a part of it?

Boston: For sure. We just wrapped up with a little bit of filming and everything like that. It was a great time — just having a good time talking about using PayPal and a little bit about ourselves too. It was fun.

Q: Anything else that you want to get out there?

Boston: PayPal is super seamless. It makes life so much easier, especially when you can send money at the tip of your fingertips. It just makes it extremely seamless being able to use the group pool, or whether you need to send money to someone because they paid for something, and y'all are supposed to chip in.

And then also for the fans being able to purchase tickets and all those different things that go into watching the game. You can always use PayPal. It's super seamless, super quick and very easy. That's the one thing I definitely want to say about this partnership.