Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown Is a Tremendous Fit With the KC Chiefs
Late on Thursday night, news broke of former first-round pick Marquise "Hollywood" Brown signing a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brown adds much-needed receiver help to the Chiefs' offense. After Kansas City was massively inconsistent at the position throughout 2023, Brown gives Patrick Mahomes a reliable weapon for the upcoming season. He will also turn only 27 years old this summer, meaning this could be a possible long-term solution if the Chiefs like how he fits in their offense and want to re-sign him.
Brown has averaged 729 receiving yards per season during his five-year career. That would have been the second-most from a wide receiver on the Chiefs last year. His fit within the offense makes a ton of sense, particularly with Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. Brown can stretch the field, which neither Kelce nor Rice do at this point. He has true speed — something the Chiefs have always valued to scare defenses vertically. Every year of his career, he's had over 20% of his target share come at over 20 yards downfield. That element of Kansas City's offense was clearly missing during the 2023 season. Brown should add a deep threat and help create more explosive plays.
Brown is versatile enough to play outside and in the slot. Head coach Andy Reid typically likes to move his receivers around, and Brown has a 70/30 outside-inside snap split for his career. This allows the Chiefs to mix and match personnel groups for the best play in any situation. Brown's success in playing on the outside is an underrated element. He's not a big receiver (5'9", 180 pounds) and usually, those prototypes have to primarily play in the slot to protect them against press coverage. However, since Brown has proven he can play on the line of scrimmage, the Chiefs can put him wherever he fits in best.
Lastly, Brown has had proven success against man coverage. Similar to the deep threat issue, the Chiefs also struggled to find someone other than Kelce to beat man coverage last season. While Brown isn't the typical route technician man-beater, his speed and quickness allow him to create separation. He had 1.96 yards per route run against man in 2023 and 1.98 in 2022. That should only improve with less focus on him in the Chiefs' offense. He should have more space to operate and run to.
From a team-building perspective, the Chiefs' signing of Brown still affords them the flexibility to continue adding to the wide receiver room in the short and long term. Kansas City can focus on the 2024 NFL Draft and take a wide receiver early, preferably in the first round, since Brown is only on a one-year deal. That'll allow the rookie wide receiver to grow during his first year without the pressure to produce immediately. However, if they are ready to play from the jump, the trio of Rice, Brown and the rookie could be deadly for the rest of the NFL.
Overall, the Chiefs did exceptionally well with this signing. It's a one-year deal for a player with some injury and consistency concerns. However, he's never played in a pass-happy offense to the level of the Chiefs. Brown gets the opportunity to play with the best quarterback in the world, and the Chiefs stabilize their wide receiver room with an above-average starter.
