The Eye in the Sky: Uncovering a Diamond in the Rough, Mike Brown

By: Matt Harmon
11/26/13

It happens every year in the NFL. From midseason to the closing moments of the playoff weeks, talented but overlooked players begin to rise from the ranks of the unknown to quietly build momentum for promising future careers. Looking for examples? Think about Wes Welker in 2006, Arian Foster in 2009, and Miles Austin in 2008. All of those players were not household names, but showed promising signs in the second half of the seasons before their true breakout year. Even if these sleepers are not stuffing up stat sheets, by looking through the eye in the sky we can begin to dig for diamonds in the rough before the rest of the public gets wise. This week, allow me to introduce you to Mike Brown, a slot receiver who has made the most of his opportunities in Jacksonville.

The Background Story

Mike Brown hales from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia known more for its role with the “religious right” than for churning out NFL stars. Brown starred at quarterback from the Liberty Flames, and holds the school record for career completion percentage with 65%. The former quarterback went undrafted in 2012, but signed on with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad after training camp. It was there that Brown began the conversion from college quarterback to NFL wide receiver. That trick has been tried plenty of times, and for every Antwaan Randle-El there is an Armanti Edwards mega-flop. Which side of the line will Brown fall under? A glance through the eye in the sky shows that, just his second season, Brown has shown some signs that he may be able to make a smooth transition.

Through the Eye in the Sky

Everyone knows Jacksonville has struggled this season, and as a consequence their offense has been put in a number of come from behind situations. Those aerial heavy situations have given pass catchers like Mike Brown a chance to shine. On one such occasion, their Week Eight loss to the Chargers, Mike Brown had his biggest outing to date. Brown logged five catches for 120 yards while making a number of big plays. Here is one such play where Brown showed off a skill that he retained from his days as a quarterback:

One skill that a great receiver needs that never seems to get mentioned is the ability to read coverage almost as well as their quarterback. Here, Mike Brown’s (yellow circle) past as a quarterback in college grants him the ability to see that the Chargers are in zone coverage at the top of the screen. The defensive backs are tipping because their eyes are in the backfield. Knowing that the receiver at the top of the screen, Cecil Shorts, is going to run an in route crossing with his out route, Brown anticipates that the defensive backs will flock to the middle of the field. This will leave the sideline clear for him to make a play, which is why Brown cuts his route downfield:

With Justin Blackmon isolated in man coverage to his right, Chad Henne exclusively reads the left side of the field where he has Shorts and Brown crossing. Brown’s anticipation of the Chargers coverage is correct and both of the Charger’s cornerbacks follow Shorts to the middle of this field. Henne and Brown are on the same page because when the outside cornerback leaves the sideline, Brown cuts down field and the ball is already headed his way:

Once Brown makes the reception he shows off the skills that made him such an explosive running threat as the Liberty University quarterback. The cornerback hesitated enough to give Brown room to make the catch, but returns to his position to try to make the tackle. However, Brown shows he has the ability to make defenders miss in tight spaces. Brown’s 5’10” 200 pound frame was far too small to be considered at quarterback, but he brings pretty good size to the table as a slot receiver. He displayed strong run after the catch ability here.
Mike Brown does not just show the ability to diagnose and find the holes in zone coverage. He has also put evidence on tape he can beat man coverage and make contested catches. Here is a play from later in that Chargers loss:

Brown is once again lined up as the slot receiver, and is going to run a deep comeback route. With all the Chargers corners lined up directly over the receivers, and up tight on the line, they are clearly hinting man coverage. Brown once again diagnoses this play well and runs a perfect route to come back to his quarterback:

Here you see Brown break on his deep route and come back for the ball. He also shows the athletic ability to go up and meet the ball at it highest point. His strong hands, and ability to make catches in traffic are both great assets. Even if he only ever becomes a reliable slot receiver, Brown will find that almost all catches in the NFL are of the contested variety. With only two years into his conversion to wide receiver, Brown is pretty advanced to be making these types of plays. Former Panthers bust Armanti Edwards never made a catch like this in his NFL career.
Here is one last play to highlight from Mike Brown’s limited archive, his first career touchdown, where he puts all his skills together:

On this play against the 49ers in London, Brown is lined up on the outside, where he does not find himself frequently and the 49ers are lined up in pure man coverage with two deep safeties. The tight end and slot receiver receiver, on the same side of the field as Brown, are running a post route and curl route respectively. Brown on the other hand, is running a go route but is going to make a double move about ten yards deep. The cornerback covering Brown is in off man coverage and obviously keeping his eyes in the backfield. Brown takes notice of this and reacts:

The cornerback backpedals with Brown down the field, but keeps his eyes on Henne the whole time. With Henne clearly looking his direction and all the other receivers breaking on their vertical routes, the corner anticipates if he breaks on the route as well he can intercept the pass and return it for a touchdown. Mike Brown performs a savvy double move to further convince the cornerback of his thinking, and he takes the bait:

As the cornerback comes charging up field in anticipation of the interception, Brown goes streaking past him. The pass from Henne is already on its way and Brown has a clear path to the end zone. On this play Brown not only demonstrated the capability of winning on the outside, as opposed to strictly in the slot, but also showed awareness beyond his years to fool a cornerback. A great example of Browns athletic prowess and how his quarterback background assists him in deciphering and manipulating coverage.

Going Forward

Mike Brown is putting up a nice amount of solid tape in just his second season since converting from college quarterback to NFL receiver. He should only improve on his route running ability, and other intricacies of the receiver position. He has a bright future as a pass catcher at this level. Brown is also fortunate that the Jaguars stable of receivers is currently riddled with questions. In theory, Jacksonville has a great set of starting wideouts in Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts III. With Blackmon and Shorts drawing defensive attention outside the numbers, Brown would be free to own the middle of the field. However, given Blackmon’s current indefinite suspension, and laundry list of legal problems, it is hard to know just what his future is with the Jags. At the very least he will not be around this season, and if Brown can stay healthy, he has a ton of opportunity to demonstrate to this coaching staff he deserves more reps. While Jacksonville is no longer the winless laughingstock of the league, they will still likely be put in the position to play catch up more often than not. That will mean plenty of passing. Mike Brown should be able use the vast array of skills broken down in this article to make plays for the Jaguars the rest of this season, and beyond. Despite drafting Ace Sanders and Denard Robinson, another converted quarterback, the Jaguars could have one of the better slot receivers in the NFL in a couple of years already sitting on their roster.

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...