A.J. Brown

#3 Wide Receiver by Outlook Sports

Born: June 30th, 1997 (22 years old)

Height: 6’1

Weight: 230 Lbs

Position: Wide Receiver

University: Ole Miss

About A.J.

The hype around Kyler Murray, and his decision to play football over baseball was a wild one, but he wasn’t the only one making that tough choice this season. A.J. Brown is the only other player besides Kyler to play in the Under Armour All-American game for football AND baseball. Football is looking like the right choice as he has completely rewritten the Ole Miss receiving records in his 2 years starting. He holds the single season records for catches (85), yards (1,320), and touchdowns (11). He also holds the records for most yards in a career with 2,984 and the most 100 yard games with 11. Brown was awarded the Conerly Trophy in 2017 given to the best player in the state of Mississippi as well as being a selected 2x First Team All-SEC wide receiver. A.J. has torched SEC defenses long, and is set to show off his dynamic abilities at the NFL level soon enough.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

Brown is a versatile receiver, can play inside at the slot position, or move him outside and he can make plays as well. Brown gives you good route running ability, with strong hands, and he can even take a hit. He is a physical, and tough runner after the catch, and is great with short to intermediate routes. With that being said, in his career at Ole Miss, Brown showed off his skill set as a YAC monster and took plenty of short yard throws and make them big gains.

Weaknesses

Brown is an amazing receiver, but he does lack break away speed. He could face some issues creating separation with true number one corners. Brown has had examples of trying to “do too much”, and lose focus on his route leading in not just him failing to create separation, but also a few drops as well. A minor note to add is I will see Brown giving up on the play if it is away from him.

NFL Draft Projection/NFL Comp

NFL Draft Projection

I find it hard for the Raiders to pass up on a player like Brown with a pick at 24 and 27. If the Raiders were looking to select a wide receiver, they should select him with the 24th pick due to the Eagles and the Colts picking at 25 and 26 respectively. Oakland needs to add more weapons around Carr before they really do call it quits on him, and A.J. Brown is a great start to that.

NFL Comparison

A.J. doesn’t bring speed to the position like a Metcalf or Marquise Brown, but he does bring a solid set of hands and a tenacious catching ability. Similarly to Pierre Garcon, Brown will kill defenses in the shorter to intermediate routes, and rely on his ability to gain yards after the catch. Garcon was a big bodied wide out who had great hands and is one of the best example of a possession receiver in the game today.