Comparing AJ Brown’s rookie year with elite receivers
By Brady Akins
4. DeAndre Hopkins (2013 Season: 16 Appearances — 16 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
DeAndre Hopkins: 52 Catches, 91 Targets, 802 Yards, 2 Total Touchdowns
Someone that Titans fans know the greatness of a little too well, DeAndre Hopkins has turned into one of the best receivers in the NFL since his career began in 2013. But if rookie years map out career trajectories, the Titans might have their own DeAndre Hopkins level player in the making.
What this side-by-side comparison shows more than anything is just how efficient AJ Brown is with his catches. Here you have one of the three best receivers in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins, who had the same amount of catches in his rookie year that Brown did. And here, you can see how much more Brown was able to do with the same amount of volume.
52 catches each, but Brown hit that number on fewer targets. 52 catches each, but Brown crossed the 1,000-yard mark where Hopkins barely broke 800. 52 catches each, but Brown turned eight of them into touchdowns, where Hopkins scored two.
Now, I’m not crazy. I know that DeAndre Hopkins is the better player right now than AJ Brown. But this is the perfect example of just how good Brown was in his rookie year, and just how good he can be going forward.