Brandon Zylstra

Brandon Zylstra (born March 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Concordia-Moorhead. After going undrafted in 2016, Zylstra signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

High school career
After playing football at New London-Spicer High School in New London, Minnesota, Zylstra did not receive any Division I scholarship offers.

College career
Zylstra played college football at Augustana University for a year and then Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. In 2013, during his first year at Concordia, he caught 41 passes for 774 yards with seven touchdowns. In 2014, while working a summer job on the grounds crew at Moorhead Country Club, he suffered a foot injury which required surgery, ending his season. He finished his college career with 1,932 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 29 games with the Cobbers.

Zylstra was also an outstanding track and field athlete at Concordia. In 2015, Zylstra helped lead his team to a first-place finish at the Cobber Duals, clearing the bar at 6'8" (2.03m) to win the high jump, and traveling a distance of 21'6.75" (6.57m) to win the long jump. He posted a personal-best leap of 22'5.75" (6.85m) in the long jump at the Thundering Herd Classic on February 7. Later in the season, Zylstra came away with the only event win for Concordia at the Cobber Twilight Meet. His 6'9" high jump tied the school-record mark set by Joe Schmidgall back in 2000. He also won the long jump competition with a mark of 21'10" (6.65m). Zylstra ultimately broke the record at the MIAC meet, clearing 6'10.75" (2.10m).

Professional career
Before the 2016 NFL Draft, Zylstra participated in North Dakota State’s pro day and at an NFL regional combine in Arizona, posting a 34-inch vertical jump, a 4.64-second 40-yard dash and 16 reps on the 225 lbs bench press. While he went undrafted, he impressed scouts with his athleticism and catching ability.

Edmonton Eskimos (CFL)
Following college, Zylstra moved to Arizona to train with former teammate Griffin Neal. While in Arizona, he attracted the interest of CFL teams during tryouts and was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos to a two-year contract. In his first season in the league Zylstra made a quick impact, catching 34 passes for 508 yards with 3 touchdowns in only six regular season games. In two playoff games he caught six passes for 108 yards. He was named the Eskimos rookie of the year for the 2016 season. Zylstra had an outstanding 2017 campaign, leading the CFL in receiving yards with 1,687 (225 ahead of second place S. J. Green). He played a big role in both of the Eskimos playoff games as well, catching 12 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown. He was named a CFL All-Star after the conclusion of the season.

Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
On January 3, 2018, Zylstra signed a standard rookie, non-guaranteed three-year deal starting at a $480,000 salary for 2018 with the Minnesota Vikings.