Why Brown is different than every other wide receiver

[time2rock]

Why Brown is different than every other wide receiver

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

A.J. Brown is just different. 

Different than other wide receivers. Certainly different than any receiver we’ve seen in an Eagles uniform in a while.

He plays wide receiver like a linebacker, embracing contact, steamrolling defenders, using his strength and power as much as his speed.

Eagles fans are about to get their first true look at Brown in the season opener against the Lions next Sunday. But he recently spoke at length about his receiving style and shed some light on what makes him such a unique talent.

"Growing up I used to watch Julio (Jones) a lot, so that’s how he plays the game, with physicality,” Brown said. "And that’s just how I try to play the game. 

"Whatever I need to do to get by you. I’m not out here trying to juke the world, I’m trying to score touchdowns every time I get the ball. Crazy thing about it, man, whenever I touch the ball my mindset is run. That’s it. Run. Because whenever a guy stops his feet, I got him. 

"And I’m just looking for that little subtle stop and I know I got him. Because I know I’m running. And once I get in front of him? I don’t think I’ve been caught yet.”

Brown has OK speed. He ran 4.49 at the 2019 Combine, which was 18th-fastest of the 37 wide receivers who ran. Middle of the pack.

For the sake of comparison, Nelson Agholor (4.42), John Hightower (4.43), Freddie Mitchell (4.46), Jalen Reagor (4.47) and Marvin McNutt (4.48) all ran faster.

But speed itself doesn’t make someone a great receiver, and Brown learned early on that he could make up for the absence of blazing speed by using his strength and fearlessness to make plays.

For some receivers, the play ends when they catch the ball. For Brown, that’s when it begins.

"That’s something that I do, the dog that’s in me,” he said. "What I want to do after the catch. I think that comes down to a guy just having heart. I’m not afraid. I play with no fear on the field. And the majority of the time I know guys don’t want to tackle me. So I know that so I try to keep running. I run through the catch. I run through every catch.”

Brown had 185 catches for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns in his three years with the Titans, averaging 70 yards per game.

The only receiver in Eagles history to average 70 yards per game is T.O. He averaged 94. Which is insane. But he only lasted 21 games before self-destructing.

Brown isn’t the physical specimen that T.O. was — and still is — but at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, he does remind you a bit of Irving Fryar, who was probably the last receiver the Eagles had who played the way Brown does.

Fryar used his physicality to record back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons for the Eagles in 1996 and 1997, and the Eagles expect the same sort of thing from Brown.

How does a guy with average speed for an NFL wide receiver have more 50-yard catches over the last three years than anybody else? 

By running through people as well as past them.

"I’m running across the field and I do not stop when the ball comes,” he said. "I’m running through every catch and trying to keep my feet on the ground as much as possible. 

"So whenever my feet leave the ground, he has a step on me now so he can come in and tackle me but if I keep both of my feet on the ground when I’m running, that’s what I try to practice. Running through the catch. Running through every single catch.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-aj-brown-explains-how-hes-different-every-other-wide-receiver

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I'm so so excited to see Brown play this weekend. I think he's going to be a major part of this offense. Finally we have a WR group to be excited about.