20/20: Marquise Brown
Welcome to the 20/20 series. As part of our continued Dynasty Scouts coverage and in preparation for the NFL Combine, we will be profiling 20 of the top incoming rookies of the class of 2019 by giving you 20 facts you must know.
1.) Player name – Marquise Brown
2.) College – Oklahoma Sooners
3.) Height/Weight – 5’11’’, 162 lbs
4.) Birthdate – 6/4/1997
5.) Class – Junior
6.) Basic college stats –
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Stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.
7.) NFL Draft round projection –
Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown, a projected top 15 pick in April’s NFL Draft, underwent surgery for a LisFranc injury last month that will prevent him from participating in the combine and his Pro Day, but he still is expected to be ready for summer training camp, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 18, 2019
Due to the surgery he underwent to repair his Lisfranc injury, we won’t be seeing him at the Combine or his pro day. This is going to hurt his draft stock and could cause him to fall to the middle to late rounds. It’s going to be hard for NFL teams to want to pull the trigger on an undersized receiver who is already damaged goods.
Todd McShay and Mel Kiper are still touting him as a first-round pick. This might be a bold prediction considering the amount of wide receiver talent that will be on the board come draft day. Whether they are right or wrong, this is still information that we might want to keep in the back of our minds.
8.) Current NFL comparison – There aren’t many 160-pound wide receivers tearing it up in the NFL right now. If you want to make a comp solely on size and athleticism, then you have to take a long look at DeSean Jackson. With speed to burn, both players can take the top off the defense. Brown is also a threat in the open field. He has good vision and is very slick with the ball in his hands. Not only does he have speed but he can cut on a dime, making him elusive when he gets the ball in space.
9.) Best possible destination – Brown’s versatile skill set makes him a good fit for a lot of teams because he can play in the slot and stretch the field. Green Bay might be the best spot for him. Aaron Rodgers has the ability to mask Brown’s size issues. The Packers passed the ball on 67.2 percent of their offensive snaps and they implemented three wide receivers sets on 75.1 percent of their plays. Brown could be effective out of the slot and in other ways if the coaching staff decides to implement some creativity with his usage. Lastly, he would provide a different dynamic compared to the rest of the receivers on the roster. Giving the team a solid slot receiver who is also a threat to burn the opposing defense for a long gain.
10.) Worst possible landing spot – The Houston Texans would be a bad fit for him. Will Fuller is one of the top deep threats in the league and Keke Coutee is established as the team’s main slot receiver. Of course, DeAndre Hopkins is always going to get a large market share of the targets. There are not enough balls to go around in Houston and Brown would struggle to carve out a role with the team.
11.) Best current skill – His elite-level speed makes him one of the top deep threats in the draft. Brown has a good release off the line of scrimmage and he has the ability to eat up cushion against soft coverage. Defenses will have to account for him whenever he’s on the field because he has the speed to easily blow by defenders. Not only does he have plenty of speed to burn but he also does a good job at tracking the ball while it’s in the air which allows him to reel in tough over the shoulder catches while in stride.
12.) Skill that needs to be improved – Due to his lack of size and strength, Brown will often struggle at the catch point while being contested. Even though he can be aggressive while the ball is in the air, at times, he will still allow the ball to get into his body while making the catch. Getting boxed out by defensive backs is another concern. After all, when you weigh less than 170 pounds, getting pushed around in high-traffic areas and getting thrown off your route is bound to happen.
13.) Past/current rookie ADP – With an ADP of 11.70, Brown is typically being drafted at the tail end of rookie drafts. His value could shoot up to the middle of the first round if he goes to a team with a high powered offense with a vertical passing game. On the contrary, he could fall deep into the second round if he gets drafted by the wrong team.
14.) Projected dynasty value – Brown will fall anywhere between the eighth to tenth round in startup drafts. If he gets overdrafted and become a first round pick, then his dynasty stock will climb. Barring a devastating injury or suspension, his value shouldn’t bottom out during his first 18 months in the league. This is because rookie wide receivers’ dynasty value is age insulated which means they are generally safe from a collapse in value due to their age.
15.) Recruiting profile – As a high school recruit, Brown was overlooked by division one programs and didn’t receive any scholarships, so he enrolled at the College of the Canyons, a JUCO school, for the 2016 season. After a tremendous freshman season in the JUCO ranks where he caught 50 passes for 754 yards and ten touchdowns, he started to get national attention from scouts and division one colleges. According to 247Sports, he was a four-star prospect and they ranked him as the second wide receiver at the JUCO level in 2017. He received scholarship offers from USC, West Virginia, Arizona State, Cal, and Kentucky before signing his letter of intent with Oklahoma.
16.) Advanced metrics –
Brown technically didn’t break out until last year when he posted a 31.29 percent market share of Oklahoma’s passing offense. Not only was he a key contributor to the offense last year, but he was highly efficient, catching 72 percent of his targets while averaging 12.7 yards per target. Brown also received a team-high 27 percent target share and 34.66 percent of his catches went for 15 yards or more.
17.) Awards and honors – In 2018, he was named First-Team All-American by the AP, ESPN and Sports Illustrated. He was also named First-Team All-Big 12 by the coaches and media and he was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.
18.) Hollywood – The nickname “Hollywood” was gifted to Brown by Fox Sports announcer Gus Johnson. Johnson started calling Brown “Hollywood” because he played his JUCO ball in California. Brown embraced the nickname and made it apart of his display name on Twitter.
19.) Bugs Bunny World – To make ends meet during his JUCO days, Brown worked at a Six Flags Theme Park. There he started off working at Bugs Bunny World before he got promoted to work at other departments in the theme park. There, he would operate rides, entertain kids, and anything else management would ask him to do.
20.) Underrated career – Brown ranks sixth in school history with 2,413 career receiving yards. His 1,318 receiving yards in 2018 ranks fourth in the program’s history. In 2017 against Oklahoma State, he accumulated a school record 265 receiving yards. Then the following year against West Virginia, he produced 243 receiving yards, second-most in school history.
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