Brenen
Thompson.
Brenen
Thompson.
Mississippi State· 5'9"· 170 lb
R4 · #105 · Los Angeles Chargers"Vertical burner and Texas track sprinter whose four-school path masked a real trait — pure top-end speed that finally translated to a 948-yard senior year at Mississippi State."Pre-draft read
This alignment-flexible field-stretcher wins with a single elite trait: legitimate track speed that forces safeties to bail at the snap. He lines up outside on go, post, and deep-over concepts, and slides inside on manufactured touches such as jet sweeps, tunnel screens, and mesh crossers to attack space horizontally.
His release package is still developing; he relies on a quick stutter and hip drop to stack corners rather than a diverse hand menu. He tracks the deep ball comfortably over either shoulder and finishes without gearing down, but body-catches in traffic and lets contested targets into his frame. His route tree tightens on comebacks and hitches when he sinks.
This prospect fits best into an Air Raid or spread RPO system that prioritizes creating space and leveraging extreme vertical speed with manufactured touches and deep shots.
Initially a Year 1 gunner and designated deep threat/gadget player, eventually growing into a primary vertical threat and slot/flex option as his route tree develops.
A traditional West Coast timing scheme that heavily features complex intermediate routes and requires receivers to win consistently at the catch point against tight coverage.
Thompson's elite straight-line speed is a foundational trait that creative offensive coordinators can exploit, but his size and developing route craft require a specific offensive context to unlock his potential.
FASTEST WR in College Football 🔥🔥🔥 || Mississippi State WR Brenen Thompson 2025 Highlights ᴴᴰ
BRENEN THOMPSON (Mississippi State) II Full 2025 Highlights
Brenen Thompson Highlights | Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receiver | Mississippi State | 2026 NFL Draft
This speed-first receiver took a circuitous route, becoming a three-star recruit and state-champion sprinter. He was always a projection until 2025, when he finally became the No. 1 receiver at Mississippi State, putting up 55 receptions for 948 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 17.9 yards per catch. Teams drafted him for his dedicated deep-ball value and gunner traits.
His journey featured shifts from Texas to Oklahoma, then two seasons at Mississippi State within an offensive system, which provided his breakout. Flags were present—such as his slot-only size, limited catch radius in traffic, and minimal production against SEC press coverage prior to his senior year. The vertical speed was undeniable enough for a Day 3 investment.
Scouting boards generally projected him in the fourth to fifth round as a WR5, acknowledging the trade-offs of his size and route refinement against his elite speed. The Chargers ultimately selected him with the 105th pick.
- 01
Legit track speed
Texas state-champion sprinter with 10.31 100m PR, and every school wanted him because that speed shows up on tape from snap one.
- 02
Vertical ball tracking
comfortable finding the ball over either shoulder on go and post routes without decelerating into the catch point.
- 03
Stack-and-run finisher
once he clears the corner's hip he pulls away rather than getting caught, and his 17.9 yards-per-catch senior average reflects that.
- 04
Manufactured-touch value
real threat on jet sweeps, tunnel screens and reverses because his one-plane burst is enough to turn a two-yard concept into a chunk.
- 05
Special teams projection
sprinter closing speed and willingness make him an immediate NFL gunner, giving him a Day 1 role while the route tree matures.
- 01
Frame limits
5-9, 170 with narrow build means press-heavy corners can reroute him, and boundary-only usage is going to be a stretch at the next level.
- 02
Contested-catch profile
lets targets into his body in traffic and does not consistently high-point, which caps his ceiling on 50/50 balls.
- 03
Route tree still narrow
most production came on verticals, screens and crossers; the intermediate menu (option routes, sit-downs vs zone) needs meaningful development.
- 04
Release package
leans on stutter/dip more than a diverse hand plan, and physical corners at the line disrupted his timing on 2025 SEC tape.
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Texas | 10 | 1 | 32 | 0 |
| 2023 | Oklahoma | 14 | 7 | 241 | 2 |
| 2024 | Oklahoma | 7 | 19 | 230 | 2 |
| 2025 | Mississippi State | 13 | 57 | 1054 | 6 |
| Career | — | 44 | 84 | 1557 | 10 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Blake ShapenQB18%
- Kamario TaylorQB10%
- Anthony Evans IIIWR10%
#2 of 18 tracked contributors · Produced well above his snap share · Offense explosiveness 1.28 (p68) · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
One-trait vertical specialist whose usage lives on go routes and play-action shots, valuable in that lane without needing the full route tree.
Slight track-speed vertical Z who found a role as a designed deep and manufactured-touch piece in a functional offense.
Undersized track sprinter who flashed early on deep shots but never developed the frame or route craft to become more than a rotational deep threat.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context Thompson entered evaluation as the classic one-trait Day 3 flyer: track speed everyone believed, production nobody could point to until his senior tape at Mississippi State. Four schools in four years (Texas, Oklahoma, Miss St x2) told part of the story; the 948-yard 2025 season on 17.9 yards a pop told the other. Scouts liked the vertical package and gunner projection, worried about frame, contested work and route diversity.
NFL fit — Los Angeles Chargers The Chargers took him at 105 as a specific deep-shot and special-teams addition behind Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. Fit is clean: an offense that already carries designed vertical concepts, plus a special-teams staff that values sprinter closing speed on kick coverage. Rookie usage projects as a rotational Z with jet-sweep and screen touches, plus core gunner reps from day one — the exact spot where his single elite trait moves the needle without asking him to solve press or contested targets in traffic.
Retrospective Too early to grade; the developmental variables to track are release refinement, contested-catch rate, and whether he adds enough play strength to survive full-time outside reps. If the deep speed keeps the top off coverages and the teams role sticks, he clears the WR5 bar the pick was built on. If the route menu never expands past go/screen, he lives as a specialist.