Oklahoma football lost a big piece to its puzzle as star receiver Marquise Brown has declared for the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s more than ready.
A lower leg injury marred the final start of his college career, but Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown had to know he was ready for the NFL following the 2017 season.
In his first year with Oklahoma, he broke the 1,000-yard receiving mark thanks to a Heisman-winning quarterback in Baker Mayfield and he then followed that up with a 1,300-yard campaign behind another Heisman quarterback in Kyler Murray.
Usually there’s a drop-off in production when a receiver who has a great relationship with one quarterback transitions to his “backup”. Not the case with Brown and Murray.
The two were on the same page all season long and it’s hard not to be when Murray got the ball right to where it needed to be on each throw and Brown seemed to always get open. His breakaway speed is what set him apart at the collegiate level, as did his yards after catch.
Brown happens to be one of the top receiver prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft and it says a lot about the kid that he wanted to play through a nagging injury to help his team in the playoff. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as he went reception-less against Alabama and it was clear that he just wasn’t right both mentally and physically.
Now he has a few months to prepare for the draft and rehab that leg but he’s more than ready for the league.
Brown doesn’t have ideal size for an NFL receiver, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing in at about 170 pounds, but “Hollywood” has the flash and can be an elite slot-type who can take a shallow crossing route to the house with his speed and endless motor.
Sticky hands are also brought to the table as NFL teams are salivating over his speed, route-running, elusiveness with the ball in his hand and ability to make difficult grabs look routine.
Not many kids can approach 2,500 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches in two seasons at the FBS level, but Brown is a special talent. The NFL better get ready for this kid to break out.