The Cleveland Browns are getting set to battle the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs this Saturday, so they probably aren’t thinking about the offseason at the moment.
But we all do so they don’t have to, and Bleacher Report’s NFL scouting department is already envisioning the perfect target for the Browns in free agency: wide receiver Marquise Brown.
Brown spent the last couple of seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. In 14 games this year, he logged 51 catches for 574 yards and four touchdowns in the least productive campaign of his career.
The 26-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Oklahoma, was originally selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 25th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He appeared in 14 contests during his rookie campaign, catching 46 passes for 584 yards and seven touchdowns. The following year, Brown showed some improvement, finishing with 58 grabs for 769 yards and eight scores. He then broke out in 2021, hauling in 91 receptions for 1,008 yards while reaching the end zone six times.
That ensuing offseason, Brown asked to be dealt. The Ravens honored his request, trading him to the Cardinals.
He played in 12 games during his first season in Arizona, snaring 67 balls for 709 yards and three touchdowns.
While Brown has only posted one 1,000-yard campaign thus far in his career, his blazing speed and athleticism is certainly tantalizing for teams searching for a deep threat.
If Cleveland can slot Brown alongside of Amari Cooper, the Browns would have one of the more interesting receiving tandems in the league. Cleveland’s passing offense ranked just 19th in the NFL this season, so it could certainly use some help in that department.
The Browns went 11-6 this season and have made just their second playoff appearance since 2002.
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