The Houston Texans selected Boston College WR Lewis Bond in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft with the 204th overall pick. The all-time receptions leader in Eagles history, surrounded by family and friends, spoke with reporters from his home shortly after the selection.

Bond said the moment was bigger for his family than for himself. "It was emotional because it's the work being appreciated. My mom, all the time and effort, all my family, the time and effort that they gave up for me to get me to youth league practices, to school, to whatever I wanted to do as a kid. Those sacrifices. It was a moment for them more than me. I'm ready to go to work, but that moment means something to them. That's really what's big for me."

Bond spoke at length about what he learned from teammate Zay Flowers, whom he watched up close during his first two years at BC. "I kind of chose BC coming out of high school because I thought I would play early. When I got there and I first seen him, I was like, I may not be ready. Just learning from him my first two years, he's kind of like an older brother to me. I really take his advice to heart." Asked what the biggest lesson was, Bond said simply: "His work ethic. He showed me what it takes to be where I want to be. It's kind of just knowing that it takes what it takes and you can't really cheat that."

He acknowledged there will be a similar adjustment period in the NFL. "There's a jump in talent. It's going to be a jump in talent this time. Maybe the speed of the game, maybe recognizing coverages. You need a little period of time to get adjusted to football on the next level. Working through it is just going to work every day, coming to practice ready to compete, knowing that there's going to be sometimes where it slumps, where you might not be performing as you want to, but knowing that that comes with jumping a level."

The academic pedigree is notable — Bond held scholarship offers from Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, and earned two degrees from Boston College. He credited his mother entirely. "That's just my mom showing out at me. She's an academic woman. She pushed me. It's just what I was raised like. It was the standard that I was expected to live on. Every day it was get good grades. Everything else come after the grades."

Asked about C.J. Stroud, Bond said, "I know C.J. Stroud, good kid, faith and believe in God. So I know he just like me, ready to work. He loves football."