Contract Terms
Former Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals receiver Marquise Brown will sign a one-year deal worth up to $11 million with the Kansas City Chiefs, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
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Fantasy Football Impact
Brown, who was traded to the Cardinals by the Ravens in 2022, did not get the long-term deal he was seeking leading into the 2023 campaign and was hampered by a heel injury last season. As ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss noted, injuries have become a recent factor for Brown, who hasn't played a full season since 2020.
He entered the NFL as the 25th pick in the 2019 draft by the Ravens. He has 313 career receptions for 3,644 yards and 28 touchdowns. His lone 1,000-yard season came in 2021 when he caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards for Baltimore.
Brown's best season came in 2021 as Lamar Jackson's top target, grabbing career highs of 91 catches and 1,008 yards.
But Brown, who turns 27 on June 4, finished 2023 with a career-low 574 yards in 14 games. He had 51 catches and four touchdowns on 101 targets, his third straight year with triple-digit targets. However, he set career lows with yards-per-target average (5.68) and yards after catch (164).
A change of scenery was called for. And as NFL.com's Grant Gordon wrote, "It's a seemingly perfect landing spot for the man nicknamed 'Hollywood,'" who suddenly finds himself in position to provide Patrick Mahomes II and the reigning Super Bowl champs with a big-play wideout they've missed since Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins two offseasons ago.
Despite their post-season success, the Chiefs struggled on offense in 2023. A less-than-impressive wide-receiving corps plagued by dropped passes and that regularly came up short on big plays was a huge factor in that.
Brown opened as WR49 on our initial Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings. That will rise. It seems more than reasonable to expect him to move into WR3 territory almost immediately, and he could rise further as the season draws nearer.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
According to Gordon, Mahomes' offensive options have improved instantly, with the talented youngster Rashee Rice and Brown likely serving as the Chiefs' top wideout options and tight end Travis Kelce cemented as the Super Bowl MVP's No. 1 target. Mahomes is currently our QB4, so there's not much room to rise.
But Footballguy Dave Kluge believes Brown signing with the Chiefs is good news for Rice. In an X conversation with Kluge, Fantasy Points' Ryan Heath noted that Chiefs' opponents deployed two high safeties at a top-10 rate. Mahomes responded by posting a 6.7 average depth of target (aDOT), the third-lowest among 33 qualifying passers.
Kluge believes opposing defenses play even more two-high, with Kansas City boasting an actual deep threat in Brown.
Kluge also pointed out that Brown's career target depth is almost three times higher than Rice's.
"They operate in completely different parts of the field," Kluge wrote. "Brown should stretch defenses vertically and give Rice more room to work on his underneath routes."
Rice is WR14 on our initial rankings; it's aggressive to expect him to move into the WR1 conversation, but it's certainly possible.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is an unrestricted free agent and almost certainly won't return. That leaves a group of outliers, including Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney, and others, even further on the outside.
Kelce will remain as our TE2 behind Detroit's Sam LaPorta.
However it plays out, Mahomes and Brown are clearly excited.
💪ðŸ½ðŸ’ªðŸ½ðŸ’ªðŸ½ https://t.co/IRsyqWj3Zr
— Patrick Mahomes II II (@PatrickMahomes) March 15, 2024
In Arizona, it's hard to get worked up about Brown's departure coming off two underwhelming seasons (118 receptions for 1,283 yards and seven touchdowns combined). It's widely believed the Cardinals will select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick overall in April's NFL Draft. Harrison is being drafted as WR11 on Underdog and WR23 on BestBall 10s. Assuming he lands in Arizona, it's hard to imagine him making it out of the second round of fantasy drafts.
Will that be enough steam to move the needle on Kyler Murray? The diminutive signal-caller opened as our QB10 and seems unlikely to rise given the list of players ahead of him.
Trey McBride, currently our TE3, is at his ceiling as well.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
- Marvin Harrison Jr. (if he lands in Arizona)
- Skyy Moore
- Justin Watson
- Kadarius Toney
Overview
Wide receiver Marquise Brown is signing a one-year deal worth up to $11 million with the Kansas City Chiefs. Brown fills a need for a deep threat in Kansas City's offense. The obvious hope is that the man called "Hollywood" will help open things up for Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce and give Patrick Mahomes II and the offense more avenues for success. Brown will likely open as a fantasy WR3, but he could climb as the season draws nearer.