NFL Draft 2019: AJ Brown is being drastically undervalued
By Shelbie Warr
While everyone is high on DK Metcalf, AJ Brown is another star receiver out of Ole Miss. Why is his teammates’ ascension hurting his NFL Draft stock?
The two year starter out of Ole Miss is just further proof that the Rebels have become experts at producing wide receivers. AJ Brown rewrote the record books, setting school records for single-season catches (85), yards (1,320), touchdowns (11) and the career records for receiving yards (2,984) and 100-yard receiving games (12).
He became one of the two go-to guys for the Rebels, DK Metcalf being the other. Of course, Brown didn’t have the same injury struggle that Metcalf went through and as a result, the awards list stacked higher and higher for him.
Now, after a relatively strong combine, Brown looks for someone to sweep him up as a promising slot receiver that seems to be ever more popular around the league.
Strengths
AJ Brown has quite a few strengths, emerging as one of the more promising slot receivers out of Ole Miss. He is a great route runner and has no issue going across the middle to get a ball when asked to. His experience against SEC defenses is also a promising prospect.
However, what teams are most excited about are the strength of his hands and his dangerous, elusive abilities after the catch. He has the ability to find the first down or the end zone, pushing for every extra inch he can get and that it’s something that NFL teams are looking for this season and every season honestly.
Weaknesses
His biggest issue can be summed up in one word: separation. He already struggles to get that separation from SEC corners and when you throw in experienced NFL corners that could be a big issue for Brown when he tries to make this move to the next level. He also lacks that elite speed that is necessary from a slot receiver in the NFL, but we have seen flashes of what could be if he puts his mind to it so to speak.
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Draft Expectations
AJ Brown, despite all his hard work and flashy highlights, is not a day one guy. While the NFL Combine did really help his dreams, it didn’t push him into the first round. There are plenty of teams in the market for a wideout though and that should help Brown quite a bit. He has shown at the Combine that he possesses the speed they are looking for and will just have to wait until he makes a team to show that he deserves first round type money.