Noah Brown (American football)
Noah Brown (born January 6, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State.
Brown in the 2017 NFL season. | |||||||||
No. 85 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Flanders, New Jersey | January 6, 1996||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Pope John XXIII Regional (Sparta Township, New Jersey) | ||||||||
College: | Ohio State | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2017 / Round: 7 / Pick: 239 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2018 | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early years
A resident of the Flanders section of Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, Brown attended Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, New Jersey.[1] He missed his sophomore season after breaking his ribs in the first game. He had 41 receptions for 630 yards and six touchdowns as a junior.
In his final year he recorded 41 receptions for 857 yards, 14 receiving touchdowns and 7 rushing touchdowns, helping his team reach the non-public league Group 3 final and receiving All-New Jersey honors by the Newark Star-Ledger. He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.[2][3] He finished with over 3,000 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns, after playing at wide receiver, running back and kick returner.
Recruitment
Brown was a highly sought after prospect that received many offers from Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and USC. He had multiple visits to Columbus in 2013 and opted to shut down his recruiting early and commit to Ohio State five months before National Signing Day.[4]
College career
Brown played in all 14 games, including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon, as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2014. He had one reception for nine yards and one run for a 4-yard loss, while playing wide receiver, H-back and special teams.
The next year, he excelled in spring practice and was expected to earn the starting wide receiver job, until suffering a broken left tibia and fibula late in fall camp during a non-contact drill, forcing him to redshirt for the 2015 season.[5][6] The injury was serious enough to require two separate surgeries.
In 2016, Brown returned to start in all 13 games as a sophomore. He had 32 receptions (second on the team) for 402 yards and 7 touchdowns (tied for the team lead). In the third game against the University of Oklahoma, he tied a school record with 4 receiving touchdowns, while totaling 5 receptions for 72 yards. After the season, he decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[7][8]
Professional career
On January 7, 2017, Brown announced via Twitter that he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[9] Many analysts were surprised he decided to enter the draft and opt out of his last two years of remaining eligibility, due to his limited experience as a one-year starter and his low draft projection. He was one of 58 collegiate wide receivers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brown chose to only perform the three-cone drill, short shuttle, and bench press. He tied for second in the bench press behind Shepherd's Billy Brown who had 23 reps, but ended up playing tight end in the NFL.[10] On March 23, 2017, Brown attended Ohio State's pro day, along with Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Raekwon McMillan, Curtis Samuel, and five other prospects. He only performed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash as scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams looked on, including head coaches: Bill Belichick (Patriots), Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Hue Jackson (Browns), Mike Mularkey (Titans), Sean Payton (Saints), Jim Caldwell (Lions), and Marvin Lewis (Bengals). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Brown was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.[11] He was ranked as the 27th best wide receiver prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[12]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
222 lb (101 kg) |
31 3⁄4 in (0.81 m) |
9 1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.56 s | 1.62 s | 2.63 s | 4.33 s | 7.07 s | 29 in (0.74 m) |
19 reps | ||
All values from NFL Combine[13] |
The Dallas Cowboys selected Brown in the seventh round (239th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[14] He was the 31st wide receiver drafted in 2017 and was the second wide receiver selected by the Cowboys after North Carolina's Ryan Switzer. Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones stated that running back Ezekiel Elliott was the main reason they drafted Brown after Elliot continually advocated for him and convinced them he had a lot of talent to bring to the team. Brown was teammates with Elliot at Ohio State.[15]
2017
On May 11, 2017, the Dallas Cowboys signed Brown to a four-year, $2.47 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $71,938.[16]
Throughout training camp, Brown competed for a roster spot as the fifth or sixth wide receiver on the Cowboys' depth chart. He competed against Brice Butler, Lucky Whitehead, Andy Jones, and Lance Lenoir.[17] Head coach Jason Garrett named Brown the sixth wide receiver on the Cowboys' depth chart, behind Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Brice Butler, and Ryan Switzer.[18]
He made his professional regular season debut in the Cowboys' Week 2 42–17 loss at the Denver Broncos. The following week, he made his first career reception during the Cowboys' 28-17 victory at the Arizona Cardinals. His reception came off a pass by quarterback Dak Prescott and he gained 13 yards before being tackled by Tyrann Mathieu.[19][20] On November 19, 2017, Brown caught a pass for a season-long 14 yards during a 37-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. On December 24, 2017, he earned his first career start as the Cowboys lost 21-12 to the Seattle Seahawks. He finished his rookie season with four receptions for 33 receiving yards in 13 games and one start.[21]
2018
On September 3, 2018, Brown was placed on injured reserve after missing the preseason with a hamstring injury.[22] He was activated off injured reserve on November 9 to the active roster.[23] Noah was mostly used for his blocking abilities appearing in 8 games with 2 starts, registering 5 receptions for 54 yards total.
2019
Brown began training camp on the physically unable to perform list, because of an offseason left knee surgery. He was placed on the reserve list to start the season on August 31, 2019.[24]
References
- Spaulding, Anthony (September 2, 2016). "After breaking his leg in 2015, former PJ star Noah Brown to start for Ohio State on Saturday". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- Kania, Joe. "Noah Brown of Pope John signs to play football at Ohio State on National Signing Day". NJ.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Football: Noah Brown of Pope John commits to Ohio State". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Can former Ohio State WR Noah Brown catch on in the NFL?". landof10.com. March 26, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Noah Brown's return from injury still a work in progress". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Ohio State football: Why WR Noah Brown's injury was more significant than everyone realizes". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Noah Brown to leave early for NFL draft". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Ohio State losing key offensive weapons in Curtis Samuel, Noah Brown to NFL Draft". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- Luke Easterling (January 7, 2017). "Ohio State WR Noah Brown declares for 2017 NFL draft". draftwire.usatoday.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- Adam Stites (March 6, 2017). "NFL Combine results 2017: Full wide receiver numbers". sbnation.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- Ben Axelrod (March 23, 2017). "Ohio State 2017 Pro Day: Results, updates and live blog for the Buckeyes' top prospects". landof10.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "*Noah Brown, DS #27 WR, Ohio State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "NFL Draft Profile: Noah Brown". NFL.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- Eatman, Nick. "Cowboys Complete Draft With Trio of Seventh-Round Picks; How Do They Fit?". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- Timothy Rapp (May 1, 2017). "Ezekiel Elliott Was 'No. 1 Agent' for Cowboys to Draft Noah Brown". bleachereport.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Spotrac.com: Noah Brown contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- Filip Laziana (June 14, 2017). "Does Cowboys newest receiver addition have a shot at the real roster?". cowboyswire.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Official Cowboys depth chart for Week 1 vs. Giants: Kellen Moore is the No. 2 QB". bloggingtheboys.com. September 6, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals - September 25th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- "NFL Game Center: Week 3-2017: Dallas Cowboys @ Arizona Cardinals". NFL.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "NFL Player stats: Noah Brown (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- Williams, Charean (September 3, 2018). "Cowboys re-sign Deonte Thompson, place Noah Brown on IR". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- Helman, David (November 9, 2018). "Thompson Cut, 2 WRs Added To Active Roster". DallasCowboys.com.
- Helman, David (August 31, 2019). "Several Young Draft Picks Among Cowboys' Cuts". DallasCowboys.com.