Feb 5, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown reacts during AFC practice at the Las Vegas Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Orlando Brown Jr. Raises Eyebrows Comparing Blocking for Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow
When left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was with the Kansas City Chiefs, he was a very polarizing figure. On one hand, general manager Brett Veach invested significant trade capital in order to acquire him and he delivered solid play to a team that eventually won Super Bowl LVII. On the other hand, he never managed to justify the contract he was seeking and his tenure with the team ended with a departure to none other than Kansas City's main AFC rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, in free agency.
Brown is now going from protecting Patrick Mahomes to being on Joe Burrow's blind side, and his experience working with talented quarterbacks doesn't stop there. Brown's time with Lamar Jackson and even Baker Mayfield (at Oklahoma) gives him an expansive list of signal-callers he's worked with. Every player's style, however, has been a bit different.
On a Monday appearance on ESPN's NFL Live program, Brown discussed his transition from Kansas City to Cincinnati and what he's expecting moving forward. He compared Mahomes and Burrow, too, citing depth in the pocket as something that will allow him to potentially play a consistently successful brand of football. Here's the quote:
“Now, as opposed to having to play in a lot more space with guys on my edge, guys have got to rush through me because Joe isn’t necessarily at 12-1/2 or 13 yards on certain drops. He’s going to be at 7-1/2 getting the ball out.”
Brown's message is being interpreted in a few different ways, with some taking exception to his analysis. Brown is implying that he's going to be put in better positions scheme-wise and is perhaps a better fit with Burrow under center, which ruffled some feathers:
With that said, many also took Brown's comments at face value and concluded that he's merely chiming in on what's different in his new environment. Bengals analyst Joe Goodberry also had some statistical backing for Brown's claim(s):
While fans of the Chiefs may not feel great about Brown's take, it legitimately doesn't appear to be a slight to Mahomes or the scheme the team runs. Things didn't end well contract-wise between Brown's camp and the franchise, but there hasn't been any bad blood from either side since he left town. One thing is almost certain, though: Brown's fit with the Bengals will be watched with eager eyes over the course of this coming season.
