Reliving and ranking every AJ Brown rookie year touchdown
By Brady Akins
2. AJ Brown’s 1st Quarter RUN vs Saints: Watch here
One of the best plays of the receiver’s rookie campaign wasn’t a reception at all, but rather, a highlight-reel run that made the entire Saints defense look silly.
Until now, there have been mentions of Brown’s route running skill and after the catch speed and elusiveness, but this play showcased another element of Brown’s game that might already be elite: his vision as a ball carrier.
Brown grabs the pitch from Tannehill behind the line of scrimmage, and almost immediately, he’s swarmed by a group of New Orleans defenders in a position to stop the play for a loss of yards. The end result of this play came together with some great blocking, but also because of how well Brown was able to spot the narrow open-lane in the defense and hit it in stride.
From there, it was all strength and speed. Saints safety Marcus Williams almost has a chance to stop the play for a modest gain, but can’t get in a good enough position to take him down, and is forced to settle for an attempted arm tackle which Brown blows through like a turnstile.
Brown kicks on the jets and scores from there, with the help of a good block from Tajae Sharpe down near the goal line (huge shoutout to Tajae Sharpe).