Skip to main content
Inside The Huskies

Denzel Boston Wears It Well As NFL Player

The former UW receiver has made a good first impression on Cleveland and the Browns.
Dan Raley|
Denzel Boston signed for the fans at the Spring Game.
Denzel Boston signed for the fans at the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

The video clip circulating shows Denzel Boston in the Cleveland Browns indoor facility wearing a black jersey and black shorts and the franchise's trademark orange helmet without a logo of any sort.

Boston comes off the line, gives a clever little stutter step 10 yards downfield and catches the ball over two defenders as he runs into the end zone.

Strangely enough, he gave off kind of an Oregon State vibe while dressed like this, which no doubt would make his former receivers coach and first-year Beavers coach JaMarcus Shephard proud.

Yet the former University of Washington wide receiver is very much an NFL player now as verified by Browns play-by-play announcer Andrew Siciliano and fellow broadcaster Jason Gibbs, who do an offseason podcast in tandem.

"He looks the part -- he is the dude," Siciliano said in an NFL films narration tone. "He is smooth. He looks every bit that big X you knew you were getting when you were able to get him at 39."

Gibbs chimed in similar high praise, saying, "Fantastic, the route running off the get-go. Knows where he's going and knows how to get there, and knows how to get there quickly. Again, it's rookie mini-camp, but the man's a pro's pro. He handles himself really well. "

That much was clear just over a month ago when Boston showed up for the UW Spring Game that went on without him.

He wore a Browns hat and a gray Dawgs hoodie as he chatted up coach Jedd Fisch on the sideline during the Friday night action. He shared in a Big Ten Network TV interview with starting Husky quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

He also made sure to interact with Husky fans by signing autographs before he left.

Denzel Boston and Jedd Fisch get caught up during the UW Spring Game.
Denzel Boston and Jedd Fisch get caught up during the UW Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

From Seattle to Cleveland, Boston, who's still just 22, has handled himself well, especially when addressing the draft process, which was lower than most experts predicted and than what he expected and was humbling.

The Browns found him still available in the second round, as the 39th overall pick, when the first round had been a strong possibility.

Demond Williams Jr. (1) and Denzel Boston shared in a Big Ten Network TV interview at the UW Spring Game.
Demond Williams Jr. (1) and Denzel Boston shared in a Big Ten Network TV interview at the UW Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

He had the size, the fluidity, the route-running discipline to go higher, all of which he put on display at Cleveland's mini-camp.

"Oh, I have that chip -- 100 percent," Boston responded when Siciliano quizzed him about the draft snub. "Coach [Todd Monken] asked me when called me for the draft. He said how do you feel? 'Angry.' ... I'm probably going to be thinking about that when I'm 50, 60 years old."

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Husky Legends