The Kansas City Chiefs upgraded their offense this offseason when they signed wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a one-year, $7 million worth up to $11 million through incentives. The addition of Brown was such a cap-savvy move by general manager Brett Veach that Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay has named Brown’s deal with Kansas City as one of the NFL’s top six most team-friendly contracts.
“The 27-year-old was one of the biggest steals of the 2024 free-agency signing period. He could have cashed in with a long-term contract worth up to $15 million per season elsewhere, but he opted to take a short-term deal to help Patrick Mahomes and Co. chase an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl,” Kay wrote on July 10.
Kay went on to compare Brown’s situation to former Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster’s, who inked a one-year prove-it deal with Kansas City in 2022, played well during the 2022 season, and got a payday in 2023 as a result.
“JuJu Smith-Schuster experienced a similar career revitalization in Kansas City two years ago, inking an incentivized one-year contract that ultimately paid him $10.2 million for the 2022 season.,” Kay continued. “He responded with his best performance since his breakout sophomore campaign and went on to earn a three-year deal from the New England Patriots after winning a ring with the Chiefs.
“Brown should follow in Smith-Schuster’s footsteps, returning an immense amount of value on what will likely be a one-year, $11 million contract before going on to net a long-term deal from a more cap-flush squad in 2025.”
Chiefs Trying to Revamp Downfield Passing AttackThe two-time defending Super Bowl champions releasing veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling and signing Brown to a one-year deal made one thing clear: the Chiefs want to revamp their downfield passing game.
Brown has played five seasons in the NFL, has one 1,000-yard season under his belt, and is averaging 11.6 yards per reception, according to Pro Football Reference.
As a player that ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at his Oklahoma Pro Day, Brown is capable of playing out wide and in the slot and can win at all three levels of the field but succeeds the most on intermediate and deep routes.
According to Matt Harmon of Reception Perception, the routes Brown had the highest success rate with during the 2023 season among the ones he ran the most were out routes (88.9%), post routes (81.5%), dig routes (79.5%), and curl routes (78%).
As a team that struggled to make plays downfield consistently during the 2023 season, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and head coach Andy Reid should be able to scheme up ways to get Brown open downfield to help fix that issue in 2024.
Speaking to the media during mandatory minicamp on June 13, Mahomes spoke very highly of Brown, who appears to be picking up the way things work in Kansas City very quickly.
“He’s done a great job. It’s hard to learn this offense, and I feel like he’s done a great job picking it up very fast,” Mahomes said. “And then, obviously, you see the ability. Honestly, I don’t know how he’s here in our place because of how talented he is. I can just see that it’s going to be a great season for him and just take pressure off other guys.
“I think it’s going to help get Trav (Travis Kelce) open, help get Rashee (Rice) open, it’s going to help get all these guys open because you’re going to have that speed threat that can run routes and do all those different things. I’m very excited to get him out there in the regular season.”
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