Corey "Philly' Brown + A look at our new WRs

[davos]

Now every year a few UDFA WRs seem to show promise during camp and what not after being relatively unknowns but Philly Brown is a step above that usual breed for us imo.

 

Coming into the draft we didn't really have a return man and our current group at WR is looking like:

 

1-Kelvin Benjamin

2-Jerricho Cotchery

3-Jason Avant

 

That already is solid.  Avant has always been a reliable 3-4 guy, Cotchery has proven throughout his career to be a #2 and even step into the primary receiver role every once and a while.  

 

Now..we've got the rest:

 

Tiquan Underwood (likely to make the team)

Tavares King (2013 5th rounder buried on the Broncos DC until we got him off waivers)

Marvin McNutt (2013 6th rounder scooped from the Eagles)

Philly Brown (our latest late round/UDFA pick-up)

Marcus Lucas (UDFA, a large body receiver with potential)

 

King and McNutt are basically going to be rookies for us, of course Brown is as well and between them and Underwood I see 2 open active roster spots.  

 

Onto..Corey "Philly" Brown:

 

 

6'0 190, low 40: 4.38

 

2013: 63 reception, 771 yards, 10 TDs

 

He was not just a solid KR/PR but the Ohio State leader in touchdown receptions.  If he can prove to be effective for us, I could see him being like a Kyle Williams (but better) for us. Marcus Lucas is in Lamonte Bryant territory for now haha. 

 

 

So...What say you about the back-end WR competition??

[davos]

I know people have liked McNutt but I think it's a big possibility him, Tavarres King or Philly Brown will be making plays on a weekly basis for us and could emerge as an out of nowhere contributor.  We're so fricken due to find one it's ridiculous and I think we could possibly have a GM now (and for the first time) that is consistently good with these pick-ups.

 

This was an area where Hurney failed imo and Gettleman so far has proven he can find those guys whether it be a guy buried on a depth chart or a fresh late rounder/UDFA.  Maybe more so on defense so far but heck, you just have to think we can hit one out of the park on offense eventually.  

 

There's my blind hope for our new roster but I really think we're in decent shape to have a competent 20+ pt/game offense.    

 

 

[Lemory]

I would keep Corey Brown over King and McNutt. Brings more to the table.

[RoaringRiot]

Pilares? 

[davos]

Pilares? 

 

He's a far outside shot who comes from the past regime.  More of a strict kick returner but you never know.

 

He just seems like an afterthought at this point but we can throw him into the mix.    

[TheRed]

Pilares is probably gone unless he shows out in camp and preseason.

[rodeo]

I'd cut Pilares today to make room for more UDFA signings.

[Ruff]

Pilares isn't a very WR at this point. Injuries have set him back after he was just learning the position, and his return skills are average at best. I'd say Philly is more a shot to make the roster than him.

[RelaxImaPro]

Granted its a highlight tape, but that dude looks pretty good for an UDFA WR. Decent size with 4.3 speed as well.

[davos]

Another thing to note: We really don't have a DB who's a PR/KR (correct me if I'm wrong)

 

What this does is leave the door open for Gaffney vs. Barner for the active roster with a fight with Brown for our KR/PR on Barner's end as well.

 

We could also make Gaffney a Brockel type role if Barner and Brown both look good.  We have a lot of flexibility depending on how things go down which I really like.  

 

Basically, there seems to be some fire under Barner right now and he'll have to really prove himself this coming offseason.  This will be an interesting battle imo..but I do sense that things could change since there is plenty of time left until games begin.   

[panther4life]

I'm curious to see who will by our z receiver if Benjamin plays the X or vice versa.

Avant has been a slot guy his whole career. I went backed and looked at his a PFF stats and he's run 78% to 92% of his routes from the slot depending on the year.

Cotchery has also run a high percentage of his routes from the slot the past few years too, especially the last 2.

Underwood has lined up in the slot but is more consistently used on the outside.

And as I'm sure many of you know Lafell has been our main slot guy the last 2 year.

[YoungPanthers89]

Preseason is gonna be fun

[gettlemanjack]

Corey Brown: two-time 2nd Team All-Big Ten (2012, 2013), just the second Ohio State receiver in school history to have consecutive seasons of at least 60 receptions...other was David Boston; 1997-98 (who was drafted #8 overall in 1999 draft and became an All Pro and Pro Bowl WR for the Cardinals

compare Brown's 2013 season to early 2nd R pick Marquis Lee and early 4th R pick Jalen Saunders of Oklahoma:

Corey Brown 63 rec 771 yds 12.24 avg 10 TD

Jalen Saunders 61 rec 729 yds 11.95 avg 8 TD

Marquis Lee 57 rec 791 yds 13.88 avg 4 TD

compare their 40 times

Brown - 4.45 forty

Lee - 4.43 forty

Saunders - 4.37 forty

[Vagrant]

Don't forget that Pilares has KR ability and has proven that he can handle that responsibility, though PR is a more important position for us considering the rule changes regarding KR. Proving that they can handle special teams work is going to be a BIG part of who establishes themselves as a candidate for the final roster. I would expect guys like Barner, Brown, Pilares, and maybe Underwood to be in the mix there. The loss of Ginn is going to hurt us on a lot of fronts.