Coming into the 2026 season, the Washington Huskies were looking for someone to step up alongside Dezmen Roebuck at wide receiver after losing Denzel Boston to the NFL, and Chris Lawson has done just that.
After a stellar 12-catch, 155-yard effort, plus the go-ahead touchdown in Washington's last-minute 17-10 comeback win at Nebraska, Lawson leads the Huskies with 638 receiving yards and is tied for a team-high with 3 touchdowns, while his 44 receptions rank only behind Roebuck's 53.
Since the start of Big Ten play, he has the third-most catches and yards (35, 503) of anyone in the conference, behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Indiana's Charlie Becker, both projected first-round picks in the 2027 NFL draft. While Jedd Fisch turned from Elijah
Brown to Demond Williams Jr. at quarterback, Lawson continued to prove to be a reliable target no matter where he's lined up.
"The jump he's made from freshman to sophomore...has been huge," Fisch said on Saturday night. "The biggest thing with Chris was being able to handle all the different positions we were throwing him into. This year, we made a conscious decision that Chris is going to play X, and (wide receivers coach Kevin) Cummings has been his biggest advocate and has done an amazing job of grooming him and getting him ready, and really, Chris has taken on Denzel's role and has done a great job with it."
When Lawson first arrived on campus as a four-star recruit in the 2025 class, he made an early impression during spring practice as a freshman, and appeared to be in line to compete for a starting role before injuries hampered him in the fall of his first year and the spring of his second.
"He battles, he competes, he's willing to do whatever we ask of him," Fisch said on Monday. "Whether that be played inside or outside, whether that be on hands team and special teams, and be able to recover the onside kick, the amount of reps he takes a practice to get better, he's made enormous growth in terms of understanding how to play the game."
Following a strong fall camp, Lawson was named a backup to Christian Moss at the X, who also had a very impressive showing during fall camp, but after the Kennesaw State transfer suffered a quad injury on Washington's first play from scrimmage, Lawson took over and hasn't looked back.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: WR Chris Lawson developing into a star for Washington football
