Catch the Browns:
One could be on the move from Pittsburgh; his cousin “Hollywood,” also a receiver, strives to stand out like him.
INDIANAPOLIS – Marquise Brown and Antonio Brown have much in common.
Both are highly explosive receivers able to inflict plenty of damage despite diminutive builds. Both hail from South Florida and exude copious swagger.
They also happen to be cousins.
However, Marquise, who starred at Oklahoma for two seasons, is poised to set himself apart, a good bet to be a firstround pick in April’s NFL draft — nine years after Antonio fell to the Steelers in Round 6 before blossoming into one of the league’s premier wideouts.
AB expects more from Marquise.
“Yeah, he talked to me about it. I should have no excuse. He went sixth round,” Marquise said last week at the scouting combine.
“I feel I’ll go higher than that. He wants me to be better than him, so that’s what I’m aiming to do.”
Topping Antonio’s draft stature — he went 195th overall — shouldn’t be much of a hurdle for Marquise, who, along with Mississippi’s D.K. Metcalf, is widely regarded as a probable opening night selection.
However, recent Lisfranc surgery meant Marquise didn’t do on-field drills at the combine, a bitter disappointment for a prospect with blistering speed who planned to take aim at John Ross’ record 4.22 40-yard time set in 2017.
Brown says he’ll be in a walking boot another few weeks and should start running in April or May but won’t be fully cleared until training camp. He hasn’t been able to do much weight training since December, which partially explains why his 5-9 frame currently carries just 166 pounds.
“I’m never going to be a 190pound receiver,” said Brown, who says his ideal weight is 170 to 175 pounds, which would put him pretty close to Antonio’s size (5-10, 181).
Marquise Brown has talked to NFL receivers who have previously overcome foot injuries, including Sammy Watkins, for advice and has no worries about his recovery.
He also speaks frequently with Antonio, including last week. “(He) just leads by example when we work out together, watch film. He shows me how to treat my body every day — everyday things,” said Marquise, while listing other other traits of Antonio’s he tries to emulate. “His aggressiveness. Any time he gets the ball he wants to score as well. In that sense, we’ve got the same type of thinking and mentality — we want the ball, get the ball and score.”
This isn’t to say they’re clones.
Although he sported a glitzy “HOLLY5WOOD” chain at the combine — a homage to his Florida hometown, Sooners jersey number and, perhaps, an insight to his persona — Marquise Brown didn’t say much about Antonio’s current standoff with the Steelers and even displayed a grounded side. “For me, where I grew up, (my) childhood dream was to go to college,” he said. “The NFL is just like surreal, it’s a bonus.”
But surreal is about to become reality very soon, and Brown doesn’t shy away from what he believes is readiness to make the jump.
“I’ll get utilized wherever, but I’ll let the film speak for itself — I played outside, I played inside — it’s nothing new,” he said when asked if he prefers lining up wide or in the slot. “I feel I can play both pretty well.”
After he caught passes from Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray the past two seasons, Brown’s film looks pretty good and bolsters his belief that, like Antonio, he can score from anywhere on the field.
In two seasons in Norman, Brown racked up 132 catches for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns. He said he encountered a lot of press coverage early in his college career, natural given his size, but was able to routinely beat it with his combination of technique, speed, film study and attention to detail.
And despite an admission that he’ll need to get stronger, he isn’t worried about getting jammed by physical corners in the pros.
“After I made a name for myself, people didn’t really press me that much,” said a player who’s drawn comparisons to the Buccaneers’ DeSean Jackson and Rams’ Brandin Cooks. “I know in the NFL, you’re gonna get press coverage a lot, and I’m going to be ready for it.”
“I’m just out here having fun. All this is surreal to me to be out here. It’s just a blessing. I appreciate however this goes. I’m out here, just being myself.
“Every team I talk to, they love my personality, they love what I bring to the table.”
According to media reports, he met with the Patriots, Bucs and Steelers, among others, last week.
And no matter how many Browns Pittsburgh ultimately has room for on its roster, Marquise will bring Antonio’s influence to his next locker room.
“He always motivated me,” Marquise said.
“He’s a hard worker. Whatever he’s doing, he wants me to do more than that.”