Eagles in attendance for Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s big day

It’s difficult to quantify the character of Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown without selling him short. Luckily, another writer has already done a fantastic and thorough job capturing his journey to this point. Looking at the player he is on the field, the fact that the headline of that piece including the phrase “college football’s most dangerous player” should tell you what you need to know.

Hollywood Brown is a burner. Those jets were on display in a 59-56 shootout win over the West Virginia Mountaineers. He put up a blistering 11-243-2 stat line in the contest and had several highlight reel plays.

Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles’ senior director of player personnel Tom Donahoe was in attendance for this performance. Before the trade deadline the Eagles were sniffing around deep threats like the New York Jets’ Robby Anderson in the search for some juice. They’ve tried drafting a vertical field stretcher type like Shelton Gibson. The trade never materialized, and Gibson hasn’t panned out.

What Brown lacks in size (5’10” 168), he more than makes up for in speed, which fills a role the Eagles have been actively seeking.

From the aforementioned Bleacher Report article:

“Two years ago, Brown couldn’t get a sniff from coaches like Rhule. He was working at Six Flags, playing junior college ball at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California, and his coaches there had to beg FBS teams to come look at him.

When they finally did and he walked onto the practice field for an audition, took off his work uniform, stripped down to tights and revealed a 5’9”, at-the-time 140-pound frame, the size seemed an insurmountable problem.

Then he ran a 4.33 40.” - Matt Hayes, Bleacher Report

With lateral agility to pair with his elite straight line speed, Brown is going to light up the NFL Combine. Scouts won’t wait until February to fall in love with his productivity and versatility though. He’s third in the Big 12 in receiving yards (1,264) and fourth in touchdowns (10). He has lined up in the slot, outside, at running back and is used in motion to create chaos for defenses.

There’s already buzz that Brown could be pushed into the first round and even listed as WR1 for some. With the recent declaration to declare from Ole Miss wide receiver DK Metcalf, it helps deepen the pool and perhaps pushes Brown down the board slightly. But make no mistake, a play-maker with Brown’s speed, improved route running and work ethic won’t last long.

Oh, and he’s Antonio Brown’s cousin, but you may have heard that a thousand times by now. Prepare to hear it a lot more when the draft buzz really ramps up.