Saw a story saying that Kansas City prioritized re-signing Marquise Brown this offseason, securing him with an $11 million contract for 2025 before he could reach free agency. What I'm not sure is why.
Back in 2021, Brown caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards and 6 TDs with the Ravens. A pretty good year. But the overall picture is of a pretty marginal wideout -- not a difference maker at any point.
Including that season, and in his 2-plus seasons since (he was hurt most of 2024), Brown is one of 38 NFL wideouts to catch at least 200 passes. But his results are among the worst of that group in almost every area.
He's averaged just 6.5 yards per target, for example; that's worse than all of those wide receivers but Elijah Moore. He's also caught only 13 touchdowns, which is a bottom-5 number. His 10.9 yards per reception is better than two of those wide receivers: Moore, and Adam Thielen.
Table, compiled using search tools at pro-football-reference.com, is sorted by yards per target.
WIDE RECEIVERS WITH 200-PLUS RECEPTIONS, 2021-2024 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/Tgt |
Brandon Aiyuk | 57 | 350 | 234 | 3557 | 15.2 | 20 | 10.2 |
Justin Jefferson | 61 | 605 | 407 | 6032 | 14.8 | 33 | 10.0 |
A.J. Brown | 60 | 505 | 324 | 4900 | 15.1 | 30 | 9.7 |
Nico Collins | 51 | 334 | 218 | 3230 | 14.8 | 18 | 9.7 |
Ja'Marr Chase | 62 | 582 | 395 | 5425 | 13.7 | 46 | 9.3 |
Jaylen Waddle | 62 | 444 | 309 | 4129 | 13.4 | 20 | 9.3 |
Deebo Samuel | 59 | 385 | 244 | 3599 | 14.8 | 18 | 9.3 |
Tyreek Hill | 67 | 623 | 430 | 5707 | 13.3 | 35 | 9.2 |
Mike Evans | 62 | 487 | 304 | 4418 | 14.5 | 44 | 9.1 |
Tee Higgins | 54 | 404 | 263 | 3687 | 14.0 | 28 | 9.1 |
DeVonta Smith | 63 | 441 | 308 | 4011 | 13.0 | 27 | 9.1 |
CeeDee Lamb | 65 | 609 | 422 | 5404 | 12.8 | 33 | 8.9 |
Tyler Lockett | 66 | 420 | 285 | 3702 | 13.0 | 24 | 8.8 |
Christian Kirk | 54 | 368 | 245 | 3256 | 13.3 | 17 | 8.8 |
Jerry Jeudy | 58 | 388 | 249 | 3426 | 13.8 | 12 | 8.8 |
Cooper Kupp | 50 | 484 | 346 | 4206 | 12.2 | 33 | 8.7 |
Terry McLaurin | 68 | 499 | 315 | 4342 | 13.8 | 27 | 8.7 |
Amon-Ra St. Brown | 66 | 570 | 430 | 4851 | 11.3 | 33 | 8.5 |
Amari Cooper | 61 | 449 | 262 | 3822 | 14.6 | 26 | 8.5 |
D.K. Metcalf | 65 | 497 | 297 | 4121 | 13.9 | 31 | 8.3 |
Chris Godwin | 53 | 461 | 335 | 3726 | 11.1 | 15 | 8.1 |
Stefon Diggs | 58 | 542 | 365 | 4333 | 11.9 | 32 | 8.0 |
Courtland Sutton | 65 | 432 | 262 | 3458 | 13.2 | 22 | 8.0 |
Darnell Mooney | 60 | 368 | 216 | 2954 | 13.7 | 12 | 8.0 |
Tyler Boyd | 65 | 331 | 231 | 2647 | 11.5 | 12 | 8.0 |
Davante Adams | 64 | 665 | 411 | 5276 | 12.8 | 41 | 7.9 |
D.J. Moore | 68 | 557 | 350 | 4375 | 12.5 | 25 | 7.9 |
Drake London | 50 | 385 | 241 | 3042 | 12.6 | 15 | 7.9 |
DeAndre Hopkins | 52 | 377 | 237 | 2956 | 12.5 | 23 | 7.8 |
Adam Thielen | 57 | 401 | 288 | 3071 | 10.7 | 25 | 7.7 |
Jakobi Meyers | 62 | 457 | 308 | 3504 | 11.4 | 20 | 7.7 |
Keenan Allen | 54 | 517 | 350 | 3877 | 11.1 | 24 | 7.5 |
Michael Pittman Jr. | 65 | 537 | 365 | 3967 | 10.9 | 17 | 7.4 |
Brandin Cooks | 55 | 362 | 227 | 2652 | 11.7 | 20 | 7.3 |
Garrett Wilson | 51 | 469 | 279 | 3249 | 11.6 | 14 | 6.9 |
Diontae Johnson | 58 | 470 | 277 | 3135 | 11.3 | 16 | 6.7 |
Marquise Brown | 44 | 369 | 218 | 2382 | 10.9 | 13 | 6.5 |
Elijah Moore | 61 | 348 | 200 | 2162 | 10.8 | 9 | 6.2 |
I get it, somewhat. Kansas City will probably be losing Rashee Rice to a suspension at some point. They want some continuity (although Brown didn't actually suit up for the team much last year).
In general though, he's a player who has a better reputation than his career has earned. One 1000-yard season for Baltimore is apparently going a long way for him. He appeared in five games for Kansas City last season (including the playoffs) and caught 14 passes for 141 yards -- that's an average of 2.8 catches for 28 yards, with no touchdowns.
Not a player I'll have any interest in in 2025 drafts.
--Andy Richardson