The Baltimore Ravens had plenty of possible directions to go during the 2019 NFL Draft, but they made a terrific decision when they selected Marquise Brown.
There was once a widely accepted opinion that the Baltimore Ravens were a terrible place to go if you wanted to be a productive wide receiver. People ignored the successes of guys like Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr. and instead focused on others like Breshad Perriman. This led many to believe that Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown’s career was over before it even started when the Ravens drafted him with the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
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Brown was far from a sure thing no matter where he was drafted due to limited size and a foot injury, and he wasn’t even universally regarded as the 2019 NFL Draft’s best wide receiver prospect. Nonetheless, Baltimore took “Hollywood” Brown in the first round and made him the first receiver off the board. With that came expectations that seemed rather low considering his billing.
Marquise Brown was pretty much written off by many pundits the moment he became a Raven and Fantasy Football nerds believed his value wasn’t worth much. Who could blame them? After all, Brown was going to play with a running back pretending to be a quarterback and an offense with no explosive players… or at least that’s what we were made to believe.
Instead, Brown joined a potent and historic offensive unit captained by his new BFF, Lamar Jackson. Jackson, now the front runner for the NFL’s MVP award, and Brown have made sweet, sweet music all season long. The two have combined for seven touchdowns on the year and are responsible for some of the league’s biggest highlights from the 2019 season.
Despite missing a couple of games with that nagging foot injury, something Brown had surgery on during the offseason, “Hollywood” has looked every bit the part of the top-flight wide receiver the Baltimore Ravens believed he could be. If anything, he’s shown us what his floor is and we can only begin to imagine how much better he can be.
When the ball is in his hands, Marquise Brown can make anything happen. Brown is more than his deep-speed would lead you to believe, and he’s shown flashes of being a focal point of Baltimore’s offense. Just put the ball in his hands and let him work.
The lesson to learn here is that we shouldn’t assume that your career is indicative of your team’s history. So what the Baltimore Ravens have been a run-heavy oriented offense without major stars at wide receiver? If anything that just leaves room for Marquise Brown to blow away expectations and become that star. Brown has shown us that he’s capable of doing just that and proving his doubters wrong.
The Baltimore Ravens have their star receiver for the first time in franchise history, and his name is Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.