Hollywood Brown's snaps for the Chiefs show potential for a big playoff run
For all the talk about Brown's return, he and Mahomes have left some plays on the field that show his ceiling in the offense could be much higher.
Hollywood Brown, per NFL Pro, has only run 33 routes for the Chiefs so far this season.
That number seemed oddly low to me when I first saw it (as I was reviewing Patrick Mahomes’ film from Weeks 15-17), but I suppose it makes sense when you think about it. Brown has only been active in two games (Houston and Pittsburgh), and he’s seen a grand total of 45 snaps in those two games. He played 27% of the offensive snaps against Houston, then 40% against Pittsburgh.
For such a low snap count, Brown’s production with the Chiefs has been decent in a small sample size, with 9 catches for 91 yards while being on the field a third of the time. More importantly, as I wrote when discussing the way Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, and Xavier Worthy can cause problems for opposing defenses, Brown has already been looked to in some high leverage moments as a guy Mahomes and Andy Reid trust. Brown has looked explosive and sharp since his return, showing the route running nuance and burst that made him such an ideal fit when the Chiefs signed him in free agency this offseason.
A guy with his burst (and understanding of when to gear up) makes some of the Chiefs’ RPO looks much more lethal, for example.
This is a nice play design that is encouraging to see (the Chiefs have used a few more RPOs over the last few weeks, obviously discounting the “we’re not trying” Week 18 loss to Denver) for a number of reasons. It’s a mental break for Mahomes, as he only needs to read one spot on the defense. It gets the ball out quickly, so it helps negate pass protection questions on the left side of the line. And it gets the ball in space to a playmaker. Brown runs it perfectly, staying slow in the open spot as he waits for the ball (to give Mahomes a window) then turning on the jets for a sizeable gain.
Those are the types of looks that become much more dangerous with a complete and athletic WR like Brown in the mix. And the limited times he and Mahomes have connected certainly injected some life into the offense. However, I don’t think they’ve even come close to reaching the potential of what Brown can be in this offense. In fact, I think they’re just scratching the surface.
With the playoffs finally here and the Chiefs’ offense starting to hit its stride as the regular season wound down, Brown is one of the biggest factors in how that side of the ball will look as they attempt to make history with a threepeat. I didn’t realize just HOW much of a factor he could be until I reviewed Mahomes’ snaps from Weeks 15-17. That’s when I saw that even though he’s been an important part of the offense, Brown has actually seen some “meat left on the bone” in terms of his usage that could be an indicator of a big playoff run.
I don’t say that lightly. But it’s right there in the film. Brown, more than any other player against HOU and PIT, came very close to putting up not just “good for small snap count” numbers, but legitimate WR1 type numbers. And a lot of the reasons it didn’t happen weren’t due to something he’d necessarily done wrong, but rather circumstances, another player’s execution, and/or him and Mahomes being JUST a tick off.
Let’s talk about Brown’s film and the opportunities that have been lost for him that may (and hopefully do) point to him being highly productive this postseason.