Brenen Thompson

● Track athlete with legit “see-ya” speed (4.26-second 40-yard dash was the fastest at the NFL combine) ● Has a jetpack underneath his pads to pull away from pursuit in a foot race ● Impressive tracking ability to change course and run underneath moon balls ● Can win versus press, leaving cornerbacks trailing if they don’t get hands on him ● Threatens vertically before snapping the route to create separation on curls/comebacks ● YAC monster in the open field, because of his nose for space and natural acceleration ● Threat to score on every touch (led all Power 4 players in 2025 with five catches of 50-plus yards and 10 catches of 40-plus yards) ● Game captain four times in 2025; chose to be a member of the MSU leadership council 105 Back to table of contents -- 109 of 629 -- ● Stayed healthy in 2025 and set school record for single-season receiving yards

● Short with a smallish frame and limited mass (lightest player at the combine by 10 pounds) ● Ball skills are adequate but you’d like to see him cut down on focus drops ● Always likely to struggle with crowded catch points ● Needs an extra step to decelerate and cool the jets at the top of routes ● Contact mid-route can too easily disrupt cadence ● Not proven as a return man (only one punt return in college, a 44-yarder in 2025) ● One-pop daddy as a screen blocker but not going to sustain very long ● Has struggled to stay healthy: missed final two games as a junior (Nov. 2024) because of right ankle injury; missed first four games of 2023 with an ankle issue; missed most of his senior year in high school with an ankle injury, which required surgery ● Only one season of production

A one-year starter at Mississippi State (and two-year starter overall), Thompson was an outside receiver (86.8 percent of snaps) to the right of the formation in head coach Jeff Lebby’s scheme. His time at both Texas (2022) and Oklahoma (2023-24) was short-lived, mostly because of injuries, but he showed what a healthy season can look like in 2025 in Starkville. He led the SEC in receiving yards, and he would have led the FBS if he’d had a more accurate quarterback. Of the 57 players in the FBS with 50-plus catches in 2025, Thompson had the second-highest yards per reception rate (18.5). An alum of Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List,” Thompson is an electric athlete who reaches his top gear in a hurry (24.07 mph at the combine). He has a basic understanding of how to weaponize his speed, setting up double moves or holding his vertical stem on posts or go routes (10 catches of 40-plus yards in 2025). He can loosen coverage using the threat of his deep speed, giving the quarterback clear targets on comebacks. The next steps in his development are expanding his route tree and showing more consistent snap in and out of breaks. Overall, Thompson is undersized and not built for traffic but offers the score-from-anywhere type of speed to be a dynamic contributor in the quick game or downfield. If he stays healthy, he has upside as a No. 3 WR for an NFL offense looking for his specific skill set.