Lombardi Ave
FanSided

Packers: Should they have drafted Marquise Brown in first round?

By Freddie Boston

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 08: Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens catches a 47 yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson #8 in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 8, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 08: Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens catches a 47 yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson #8 in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 8, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Should the Green Bay Packers have drafted Marquise Brown?

Earlier this week, Seth Steere of With the First Pick re-drafted the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. This is always a fun exercise as it shows which rookies have stood out so far, and how teams could, and perhaps should, have picked differently.

Steere had the Packers going with wide receiver Marquise Brown with the 12th pick instead of edge rusher Rashan Gary. Brown went 25th overall to the Baltimore Ravens in the real draft. He does have Green Bay still picking Darnell Savage with the 21st pick, as they did back in April.

I personally love the idea of picking Brown. He was one of my favorite prospects in the draft this year, and I had him going to Green Bay in a mock draft.

This isn’t to say Rashan Gary was a bad a pick or a “bust”. According to Pro Football Reference, Gary has only played on 24.06 percent of the Packers’ defensive snaps this season, and he’s yet to start a game. He hasn’t needed to do much more than that due to the dominant play of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith.

Gary has a sack, a fumble recovery and a couple of quarterback hits this season. With time to develop, he can become a great player in this defense.

However, considering how well the Smiths have played, it makes sense to address a need in a re-draft. And Brown would’ve been a great addition to Matt LaFleur’s offense.

His speed makes him one of the best deep threats in the NFL. In seven games this season, Brown has caught 28 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns. He has more receptions and receiving yards than every Packers wide receiver not named Davante Adams, and he’s played three fewer games than most of them and hasn’t been fully healthy all season.

Brown is averaging 16.2 yards per reception, which ranks 13th in the NFL.

Defenses would find it even more challenging to stop the Packers offense if they had Brown. Davante Adams already takes the focus of the top cornerback on the other team, but defenses would also need to respect Brown’s speed. But then how do you also cover Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams out of the backfield?

If you could re-pick the Packers’ two first-round selections, who would you choose?

Home/Green Bay Packers News