Derrick Henry deal secures the Tennessee Titans cornerstones on offense

A.J. Brown, WR

Sometimes you can see stardom instantly. I remember with one of the Titans last superstars at the skill position, just how early you could see that stardom.

Go back to 2008, Chris Johnson’s rookie year. It started out very strong with nearly 400 yards in his first five games despite never having 20 or more rushes. And then, the Kansas City Chiefs game happened.

That was the game where you realized how incredibly Chris Johnson was going to be, as he rebounded from a tough Baltimore Ravens game to have 168 rushing yards an 18 touches (9.3 yards per attempt). His blistering speed was showcased and from then on he was truly a threat to carve up a defense in any given week.

For A.J. Brown, that game happened a little later. You could argue that the matchup against the Atlanta Falcons was when you saw glimpses of a star, but the game against the Oakland Raiders was when he really proved it.

Brown was a machine the week before against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but come one, no one respects the Jaguars. Then he went to Oakland, in a harsh environment as two teams met with their playoff hopes basically on the line.

During that game, he had three touchdowns even though one was called back on a dumb holding call. Despite losing that TD, he still had a 91-yard TD reception as well as a TD catch where he had to rumble through two defenders to get in the endzone.

I have written a lot about Brown’s historic campaign, but I think this tweet is my favorite snapshot.

Despite being in an offense that didn’t pass much, Brown couldn’t stop himself from becoming one of the most productive rookie wide receivers in history and this illustrates that incredible efficiency.