Cowboys' underdog is acing his new assignment
Wide receiver Noah Brown didn't have the smoothest start to his career with the Dallas Cowboys due to multiple injuries. The worst came in 2019 when the former seventh-round pick missed the entire season after having multiple operations to repair a knee issue. Despite these setbacks, Brown did enough for the Cowboys in his special […]
Wide receiver Noah Brown didn't have the smoothest start to his career with the Dallas Cowboys due to multiple injuries. The worst came in 2019 when the former seventh-round pick missed the entire season after having multiple operations to repair a knee issue.
Despite these setbacks, Brown did enough for the Cowboys in his special teams' role to earn one-year extensions in 2021 and 2022, and he's taken full advantage of the latter.
NFL.com released its list of top 10 slot receivers on Thursday. Based on a formula from Next Gen Stats, Brown has been the 10th best in this area in the first seven weeks.
Next Gen Stats Analytics Team on Brown's ranking:
"With Amari Cooper off to Cleveland, Michael Gallup recovering from his ACL injury and James Washington suffering a foot injury in training camp, it was natural for Cowboys fans to wonder who might step up next to CeeDee Lamb as a receiver in this offense — and that was before quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a Week 1 thumb injury that cost him five games. Brown's emergence is a core reason why Dallas' offense stayed afloat in the early part of this season. Whether Prescott or Cooper Rush has been throwing him the ball, Brown has been elite at the catch point, with a +20.0 percent catch rate over expected from the slot this season (second in the NFL, behind Browns tight end David Njoku, among those with a minimum of 15 such targets). Thanks to his top-end ball skills, Brown has secured 12.8 receiving yards per target from the slot, third in the NFL among players with 15-plus such targets (behind the Vikings' Justin Jefferson and the Bengals' Tyler Boyd). The Cowboys are getting healthier; Gallup has returned to the lineup and Washington is on his way back. But Brown appears to have earned his spot in the rotation regardless of who else is in the picture."
Brown is showing that all it took is for him to not have any injury issues to be a viable piece on the Cowboys' offense. He's started all seven games this season and has already set career highs in receptions (25), yards (339), and yards per catch (13.6).
The former Ohio State Buckeye had his most impressive performance in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Brown caught all five of his targets for 91 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown.
Hopefully for the Cowboys Lamb continues to develop into a no. 1 option and Gallup gets back to his old self after his ACL tear. However, although that will likely decrease Brown's impact a little, he's given the Cowboys another reliable option to attack defenses with, which no team can have enough of in the passing game.
Feature image via Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
