As projected, the Arizona Cardinals used their first round draft pick to acquire a wide receiver. The surprise came when the pick was traded for an established star wideout, as opposed to moving up for one of the top prospects.
The Cardinals sent pick No. 23 for Ravens’ star receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and a third rounder. They were met with optimism for the deal but also a fair amount of skepticism. Former Titans wideout A.J. Brown was traded for a similar package.
There are a few reasons for this that are going over the head of the casual twitter general managers. First, A.J. Brown wanted to play with the Eagles. That has been made clear. Second, while he has put up better stats than Hollywood to this point, the Cardinals were looking to pair elite speed with DeAndre Hopkins. The team also has two extra years of affordable control.
Oh – and the obvious. Hollywood played with Kyler Murray in college and the two were one of the most exciting duos in the country.
Sitting at pick No. 23, it was always going to be a longshot for the Cardinals to land one of the big four receiver prospects, those being Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jameson Williams. All were gone by pick No. 12.
General manger Steve Keim mentioned in his press conference following the first round that he thought most of the prospects the team coveted would be gone by pick No. 23. This came true, with the likes of Treylon Burks, Zion Johnson and Jahan Dotson all being selected in front of them. There wasn’t a better offensive player to be had than Hollywood at pick No. 23.
Acquiring Brown (and a bonus third-round pick) immediately brings a known commodity into the offense, as opposed to taking a gamble with a college receiver.
In his final season with the Ravens, Brown had 91 receptions for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. This is an impressive feat considering the run-heavy scheme by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Baltimore’s star quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the last month of the season which severely hindered Brown’s opportunities to make plays.
There’s a good chance Hollywood’s production increases in Arizona. First, Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is far more receiver-friendly than that of the Ravens in terms of production. Second, opposing defenses draw most of their focus on DeAndre Hopkins. Brown will see a ton of one-on-one coverage with the safeties drawn towards D-Hop.
Last season was hands down Brown’s best. He was operating as the No. 1 receiver on the depth chart. The sky is the limit for him alongside Kyler Murray and the arsenal of offensive firepower at the Cards’ disposal.
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