A.J. Brown: Titans receiver deserves Offensive Rookie of the Year
A.J. Brown surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season in Week 17 and has done enough to deserve the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
A.J. Brown capped off an excellent regular season in style as he surpassed 1,000 yards with another hugely impressive performance that helped clinch the Tennessee Titans’ place in the playoffs.
As the Titans have surged down the stretch, Brown has emerged as the go-to receiver for Ryan Tannehill, and Sunday’s display further padded an Offensive Rookie of the Year resume that is looking very tough to dispute.
Brown caught four passes for 124 yards and a touchdown as the Titans decimated the Houston Texans’ backups 35-14 to clinch the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. Tennessee will now travel to New England for the Wild Card round and stopping Brown should be very high on the list of priorities for the Patriots.
That may be easier said than done. The 6’0″ and 226-pound Brown’s combination of size, speed and agility has seen him consistently make devastating plays after the catch while he has also demonstrated the ability to haul in extremely tough sideline catches that was apparent during his college career at Ole Miss.
Brown finished the regular season with five 100-yard games to his name. Four of those came in the last six weeks of the campaign. Though the likes of Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel and D.K. Metcalf have all enjoyed strong years, Brown stands out as the best rookie receiver in the NFL and has the strongest case to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Josh Jacobs has long been considered the favorite, with first overall pick Kyler Murray in the mix. Jacobs’ influence for the Raiders is undoubted and Murray’s substantial development down the stretch should have the Cardinals full of hope for 2020.
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However, neither Jacobs nor Murray will be in the postseason. Without Brown, the Titans would also be watching the playoffs from home. For that reason, he should end his season with hardware regardless of how far Tennessee goes in the postseason.