Marquise Brown Expected to Produce in Major Way With Cardinals
Marquise Brown is the newest toy in the Arizona Cardinals' offense, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury is expected to make magic with the 25-year-old receiver.
Brown, a threat that can take the top off of any defense, eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his three-year career with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Athletic's Larry Holder says he expects Brown to maintain that production in a new offense:
"Previous QB: Lamar Jackson | QB rating: 87.0 (25th) | Catchable percentage: 82.4 (35th)
"Current QB: Kyler Murray | QB rating: 100.6 (ninth) | Catchable percentage: 87.2 (eighth)
"When you’re trading your No. 1 receiver without having a clear replacement in-house, that raises a red flag for me. Obviously, the Ravens weren’t over-the-top sold on Hollywood Brown anymore. And the Cardinals entered this offseason in a desperate spot with DeAndre Hopkins’ suspension and Kirk’s departure to Jacksonville," said Holder.
"Brown tied Kupp for the fourth-most routes of any wideout in the league last season (625).
"Moving from Jackson to Murray should improve Brown’s opportunities, though, given the clear difference between the quarterbacks in terms of catchable-pass percentage. It also doesn’t hurt that Murray and Brown played together at Oklahoma."
With Hopkins out the first six games, Brown has a true opportunity to explode onto the scene early in 2022.
Combine the opportunity for Brown (and even when Hopkins returns, Brown should still find himself in single coverage often) with Kingsbury's creativity and the previous connection with Murray, and all signs point to high expectations in 2022.
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