The Carolina Panthers used a third-round pick Friday night on Chris Brazzell II, a 6-foot-4 receiver from Tennessee who led the SEC in yards per game and total touchdowns last season. Dave Canales later called Brazzell one of his favorite players in the draft.
Canales said Brazzell has 4.37 speed, rare ball-tracking ability and the kind of body control that lets him land on his feet and finish the play. The coach said the Panthers were not expecting him to still be on the board when they picked.
Brazzell arrives in Charlotte after a season that made him hard to miss. He caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, numbers that put him atop the SEC in both yards per game at 84.8 and scoring among receivers. Against Georgia, he had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, the kind of outburst that forced defenses to take him seriously.
Canales said film from Brazzell’s time at Tulane and Tennessee shows a full route tree and enough polish to match the speed. He said the receiver can stretch the field vertically and create space for others, which matters for a Panthers offense that already includes Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette.
The fit is obvious, but the surprise is in how far the receiver fell. Canales said the team had not planned on Brazzell being available at its pick, yet the Panthers came away with a player whose production and size suggest he can change how defenses cover them. For Bryce Young, that is the kind of addition that can open the field in a hurry.
