A.J. Brown is a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans and was drafted in the second round with the 51st overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. Born in Starkville, Mississippi, Brown played baseball and football at Starkville High School, and caught 83 passes for 1,371 yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season, leading his team to a 6A State championship. Brown was named first-team All-State by USA Today, and was regarded as a top recruit in both baseball and football, playing in both the Under Armour All-America Football Game and baseball game. He would enroll at Ole Miss as a four-star receiver in their 2016 recruiting class, despite being drafted in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. In three seasons at Ole Miss, Brown’s college stats show 189 passes for 2,984 yards and 19 touchdowns. He received first-team All-SEC honors in 2017 and 2018, and declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season.
Brown is an elite athlete who ran a 4.49 40 time at the combine at 6-feet tall while weighing in at 226-pounds, which was good for a 91st-percentile speed score of 109.7. In his rookie year, which was his only healthy season, Brown posted a receiving line of 52-1,051-8 on 84 yards while averaging a ridiculous 20.2 yards per reception. Brown’s 2020 season saw him miss two games due to a bone bruise, but that didn’t stop him from posting his second-straight 1,000-yard season, as he finished with 70-1075-11 and had a fantasy ranking of WR6 in fantasy points per game (17.7). He would undergo knee surgeries to both his left and right knees to correct knee sprains that he dealt with throughout the 2020 season as well, despite not missing any games due to those injuries.
From a pure numbers standpoint, Brown was pacing for career-highs in targets, receptions and receiving yards under the NFL’s new 17-game season and had a 27.0% target share, but finished with 63-869-5 on 105 targets, despite posting a career-high in air yards (1,150). He had only six drops on the season, and was 73rd with 319 routes run. Despite playing most of of snaps from the outside, Brown also saw limited action in the slot with 111 snaps. When it comes to on-field production, Brown doesn’t have much to prove heading into his fourth season. Since 2000, he is one of just 35 wide receivers to go for 2,800+ receiving yards in their first three seasons in the league. His 24 receiving touchdowns is tied for the sixth most among players over that span.
Brown is still playing under his rookie contract in 2022, and should have a top-12 ADP for wide receivers throughout fantasy draft season.
