How did AJ Brown’s rookie campaign compare to the NFL’s best?
Every NFL star gets their start somewhere. For some, it’s a quick rise to dominance and fame as the skills developed at the college level transfer over smoothly to the NFL game. For others, it’s a slow burn to the stop as they adjust to the speed of football at its highest level.
For the Titans star in the making AJ Brown, it looked like elite-level play was second nature at times last year, despite the 2019 season marking his first in the league. For stretches of his rookie year, it looked as though Brown was ready to be an elite receiver from the second he stepped on the field.
With the skills he showed and the numbers he put up, Titans fans along with the rest of the NFL world began to take notice of what AJ Brown has the potential to be– a top-level wide receiver, in the same camp as Davante Adams, or even DeAndre Hopkins.
Not only will the tape show Brown’s potential, but the stats will show it as well, and not just his own. When breaking down the numbers of the NFL’s best of the best pass-catchers, the Titans’ receiver compares more than favorably.
From Hopkins to Adams to Julio Jones, AJ Brown’s rookie season was either on pace or outpacing many of the rookie years from the NFL’s household names. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s take a look.
1. Julio Jones (2011 Season: 13 Appearances — 13 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
Julio Jones: 54 Catches, 95 Targets, 959 Yards, 8 Total Touchdowns
You’ll find through this slideshow that the big name that AJ Brown compares the closest to is Julio Jones. Not bad company to be in at all.
The Alabama Crimson Tide star turned Atlanta Falcons star’s rookie numbers look close to identical to what AJ Brown did in his debut season. Jones led the way in catches and targets, but those stats are only separated by a total of 13 passes (two catch advantage for Jones, along with an 11 target lead).
But despite ever so slightly less volume than Jones’ rookie season, AJ Brown was able to do a little bit more with his 52 catches, breaking the 1,000-yard mark in 2019 and being just the eighth receiver in the last decade to do so. Brown was even able to find the endzone one more time in his rookie year than Jones did, with Brown’s one receiving touchdown against the Saints making the difference between the two.
Of course, none of this is to say AJ Brown is the league’s next Julio Jones. But more to say, the Titans receiver is off on the right foot to stardom.
2. Michael Thomas (2016 Season: 15 Appearances — 12 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
Michael Thomas: 92 Catches, 121 Targets, 1,137 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
AJ Brown’s rookie season compares nicely to many current NFL stars– but not all of them.
Namely, ‘Stat God’ Michael Thomas, who was seeing heavy volume and doing plenty with it from the second he stepped into the league. Yes, Thomas’ 40 more receptions came on nearly 40 more targets, but the Saints receiver ended up catching 76% of his rookie year targets, compared to Brown’s 62%.
A more advanced look at the box scores will give a few advantages to AJ Brown. Thomas is pejoratively known by a few people as the king of six-yard routes, and he certainly looks the part in comparison to AJ Brown’s impressive 20.2 yards per reception numbers.
But in most big numbers, Michael Thomas’ rookie season takes the cake over Brown’s. But there might not be a rookie season more impressive than Thomas’, at least from a statistical perspective. Thomas had an insane amount of catches, an insane amount of targets– and a slight advantage in yards and receiving touchdowns.
Brown was more efficient with his catches than Thomas, but the rest of the numbers favor the Saints star.
3. Davante Adams (2014 Season: 16 Appearances — 11 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
Davante Adams: 38 Catches, 66 Targets, 446 Yards, 3 Total Touchdowns
That last slide was a downer, huh? And to be fair, you could pick just about any receiver in NFL history to compare to any Michael Thomas season, and chances are it won’t be pretty. But how about a pick me up for this slide?
Davante Adams, while maybe not in the class of Thomas or Jones, is still one of the best receivers in the league today– despite what his modest rookie numbers would tell you.
Brown and Adams both came into the league in the late second round (Brown with the 51st pick and Adams at 53rd in the 2014 NFL Draft) but entered vastly different situations. Adams was forced to compete with talented receivers on the Packers roster like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, while Brown was able to climb quickly to the top of the Titans depth chart.
Adams still had a solid rookie year in 2014, but Brown knocked his rookie campaign out of the park, at least in comparison. More volume than Adams, more efficient than Adams, more touchdowns than Adams– and this is compared to a player that’s become one of the NFL’s best, as well as someone who started in the same number of games as Brown.
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.
5. Terry McLaurin (2019 Season: 14 Appearances — 14 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
Terry McLaurin: 58 Catches, 93 Targets, 919 Yards, 7 Total Touchdowns
I want to be clear– none of this is to make the case that AJ Brown right now is better than any of the receivers we’ve previously gone through. Up to this point, this has just been an exercise to show how Brown’s rookie year stacks up against the league’s best receivers, and to show the potential Brown has based on that first-year performance…
…That said, AJ Brown is definitively, 100% better than Terry McLaurin (fight me, Washington fans). And the numbers back it up.
Once again, AJ Brown’s per catch brilliance is on full display (imagine what he could do with 100+ targets, Arthur Smith). Even with fewer targets and fewer catches, Brown was able to cobble together more yards and more touchdowns (receiving and rushing) than Washington’s McLaurin.
Both are stars in the making, but as far as rookie year production goes, AJ Brown takes the cake here.