Former Emerald Ridge, UW receiver taken in NFL Draft second round
Former Emerald Ridge High School receiver Denzel Boston will be playing on Sundays. Boston, who went on to star at the University of Washington, was selected with the 39th pick by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh on Friday night.
Boston was productive the past two seasons at Washington, racking up 881 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025 and 834 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024.
He’s one of several UW receivers to go pro in recent years; Rome Odunze was drafted in the first round of the 2024 Draft and Jalen McMillan was drafted in the third round, the same year.
Boston totaled 1,572 yards and 23 touchdowns during his high school career at Emerald Ridge.
Former Emerald Ridge coach Adam Schakel, who coached Boston in high school, said Boston was an impact player for the Jaguars as a freshman, which is rare at the high school level.
The middle of his high school career was interrupted by the pandemic, limiting his opportunities until college.
“That was tough and difficult for everybody,” Schakel said. “But he had a really good career with us. ... He loves football, it’s his thing. The specs, him being 6-4, the production he had (at UW). Now here he is getting drafted.”
Schakel, who said he has fielded calls from several NFL teams in recent months, said Boston is willing to be coached, like he was at Washington, where he steadily improved while waiting behind Odunze and McMillan. Schakel thinks that’ll serve him well in the NFL.
“He absorbed all that really well,” he said. “UW was a good spot for him. He’s a hometown guy that stayed home with our junior program, our high school, then the UW.”
