Tennessee Titans: A.J. Brown is everything we hoped for and more

Tennessee Titans rookie receiver A.J. Brown is on the fast track to stardom and has the potential to be the most explosive and productive receiver to ever wear the two-tone blue.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Arthur Juan Brown, better known as ‘A.J.’, has taken the league by storm as of late. His impressive play has propelled him to the top of the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, as he has given an often-stagnant passing attack a shot of life that this franchise hasn’t seen in many years.

The former No. 51 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss was chosen in hopes of complementing receiver Corey Davis in taking the passing attack to another level.

Davis was chosen by the Titans with the fifth overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft out of the university of Western Michigan with the belief that he could be the dynamic, game-changing receiver that could wreck a defense’s game plan any time that he steps foot on the field, something this team has desperately needed for years.

Although Davis has shown flashes that he possesses the skill set that is expected from a true No.1 receiver, he has not shown the ability to do it consistently. The former Western Michigan standout has failed to eclipse the 900-yard mark thus far in his young career and has only crossed the 100-yard threshold twice in his three-year career.

This season Davis has put up a very pedestrian 517 yards and two touchdowns through 14 games — far from the production you’d expect from someone taken in the top-five.  I wouldn’t go as far to say that the former Western Michigan star receiver has been a complete letdown during his tenure as a Titan.

He has shown the potential to be an extremely solid No. 2 receiver in this league and is arguably the best blocking receiver in the NFL. This Titans team can definitely find a spot for Davis’ skill set. However, when you are a receiver taken fifth overall, you are expected to be more than just a solid second receiver that is an elite blocker.

In comes in a physically imposing receiver out of Ole Miss that happened to fall right into the lap of Titans general manager Jon Robinson back in April. A.J. Brown somehow slipped to the second round of the draft despite a fantastic collegiate career. That slide could prove to be one of the biggest blessings that has ever graced the Tennessee Titans franchise.

The former 51st overall pick is everything that they hoped their former fifth overall pick would be. As a rookie, Brown has totaled 893 yards and seven touchdowns on 47 receptions through 14 games.

Brown has already eclipsed more yards in a single season than Davis has at any point of his career and already has one more receiving touchdown (seven) than Davis has in his entire three-year career combined (six).

One thing that makes the former Ole Miss standout special is his knack for making the big play. He currently averages a whopping 19 yards per reception and currently leads all rookies in 40+ yard receptions with six.

The former second-round pick has also provided the consistency at the receiver position that this franchise has desperately been yearning for. He has gone for over 100 receiving yards in three of his last four outings, which also includes an impressive four receiving touchdowns in those three games.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and tipping the scales at a mammoth 226 pounds, Brown is a physical specimen from who is a nightmare for defensive backs to cover now that he has began to hit his stride on the field.

Against the Raiders, A.J. caught a beautiful dime from Ryan Tannehill in which the QB’s foot was on his own goal line when the ball was released. It was caught around midfield where a Raider defender was manhandled by Brown’s imposing physique and brute strength, resulting in the Titans receiver easily shrugging him off on the way to a walk-in 91-yard touchdown.

Brown finished that game with an impressive 153 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.

One week later against the Texans, Brown caught another 50-plus-yard bomb from Tannehill on the opening drive as he stood inside his own end zone.  That catch helped set the tone for the type of game the Titans receiver eventually had.

Brown was a nuisance to the Texans’ defensive backs all day, as he finished with 114 yards and one receiving touchdown on eight catches — his second consecutive 100-plus yard game. The first time he has accomplished that feat as a professional, but surely not the last.

On the season, Brown has produced four 100-plus yard games thus far, which is the most by a rookie since Amari Cooper produced five in 2015. The former Ole Miss star has the chance to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, which is something that only seven Titans wide receivers in total have done since the team has moved to Tennessee.

Something like that should tell you everything you need to know about the Titans’ deficiencies at the receiver position that have historically plagued this franchise.

Brown has the potential to eventually change that history and re-write the narrative about Titans receivers. Keep in mind that Brown is only 22 years old and is far from hitting his prime — something that should make Titans fans salivate when thinking about how good Brown could potentially be a couple of years from now.

It is not an overstatement at all to say that Brown has shown the potential to be a superstar in this league as long as he stays healthy. His connection with Tannehill seems to be growing stronger by the week. The passing attack has come to life to complement an already strong rushing attack, which in turn has produced one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL residing in Nashville, Tennessee.