A.J. Brown, WR
It isn’t often a rookie wide receiver can see his stock rise after a game in which he didn’t record a catch, but Brown is doing just that.
In our last stock report, we gave Brown the “stock down” treatment because he had missed a ton of practices with a leg injury. Last week, Brown returned to full practice just in time to play against the Pats and was immediately thrust into first-team reps in Preseason Week 2.
As we just mentioned, Brown didn’t catch any passes, however he did draw a pass interference penalty on a pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota that helped move the Titans 27 yards down the field. Mariota and Co. would end up scoring on that same drive.
Mike Vrabel wants Marcus Mariota to extend plays like he did on the pass interference call that AJ Brown drew. He like how Brown turned his route upfield on the QB scramble. pic.twitter.com/s9uCm3Nafp
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) August 18, 2019
Good receivers don’t just catch passes, they are also able to draw penalties. Brown had the wherewithal to change his route in order to adjust to the play.
We’ll concede that Brown needs work on his route-running skills, and we’re hoping to see him get the ball in his hands during the team’s third preseason game.
But he already appears to be ahead of both Tajae Sharpe and Taywan Taylor in the pecking order even after missing significant practice time. As long as he stays healthy, Brown appears to be a lock to be the team’s No. 3 wide receiver behind Corey Davis and Adam Humphries.