Chris Brazzell reveals his true feelings on Tennessee's offense and addresses the maturity questions he faced before the draft

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Chris Brazzell was selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. Brazzell grew up rooting for the Panthers.

Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Chris Brazzell may have been a first round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft if not for questions about his maturity and the offense that he played in at UT.

Instead, Brazzell was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round.

The maturity questions about Brazzell were particularly puzzling.

Outside of an incident involving a suspended license, Brazzell never ran into any trouble at Tennessee.

That’s why Tennessee fans were surprised when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that there were questions about Brazzell’s maturity just days before the draft.

"Multiple teams said Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson is the most talented wide receiver in this draft, and two said he would go higher than projected," wrote Schefter in April. "But other teams expressed concerns about both his durability and maturity. Many teams say Tennessee's Chris Brazzell II has elite talents that rival Tyson - one general manager even compared him with George Pickens - but there are even more questions about his maturity."

Brazzell responded to that report on Saturday at Carolina’s rookie minicamp.

"Long story short, I just really didn't know my license was suspended," said Brazzell. "It wasn't one of those things where I was driving around with a suspended license like a dummy. In the state of Tennessee, they issue you a suspended license and never tell you. So my license was suspended for like a year and a half. And I don't get pulled over a lot. So it took me a year again to get pulled over again, and [then it’s like], ‘Dang, my license is suspended?' So I was in jail for like 30 minutes. No bond. Leaving with a ticket. Went in there and walked out. It was a learning lesson. Just pay your tickets on time."