A.J. Brown has established himself as one of the new faces of NFL wide receiver dominance. The Philadelphia Eagles’ wideout has earned two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl appearance, both before the age of 27.
But years earlier, Brown had established himself as a bona fide star in one of the nation’s best college football conferences.
Tracing Back to A.J. Brown’s Collegiate Career
Brown earned his competitive fire and ability to thrive against stellar competition in the Southeastern Conference by starring for the Ole Miss Rebels.
He was considered a prized in-state recruiting coup for Ole Miss in the Class of 2016. Brown was listed as the state of Mississippi’s No. 2 overall prospect by 247Sports.
From there, it didn’t take long for the native of Starkville, Miss., to establish himself as one of the SEC’s deadliest wide receivers.
The then-6’1″, 225-pound Brown immediately got inserted into the Rebels’ offense during his true freshman season. He responded by snatching 29 passes for 412 yards and averaged 14.2 yards per reception. He settled for two touchdowns.
But during the 2017 season, we witnessed his biggest rise. Brown buried SEC and Power Five defenders with 75 catches and 1,252 yards while averaging 16.7 yards per catch and crossing the end zone 11 times.
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Brown wasn’t done dominating the SEC or whoever dared to cover him. He shattered his sophomore season bests by hauling in 85 catches for 1,320 yards and averaging 15.5 yards per catch. The only number that went down was his touchdowns — which dipped to six.
Still, Brown proved he was NFL-ready by thriving against the rigors of SEC play. And in the process, he became one of the more coveted wide receivers ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft class.
Who Did Brown Do a Bulk of His Damage Against?
Who wasn’t safe from Brown’s route running, yards-after-catch abilities, and field dynamics?
Brown surpassed the 100-yard mark 12 times in his collegiate career, including two 200-yard games — one coming on Opening Day in 2017 against South Alabama. But did the likes of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, or even Georgia struggle with containing Brown? Here’s how he fared against some notable SEC opponents:
- Auburn: Brown swooped in 10 catches for 109 yards in the 2017 loss; he then followed it with another 10-catch day for 155 yards in the 2018 season.
- Texas A&M: He tallied seven catches for 70 yards in the 2017 loss but then brought in six catches for 127 yards in his stellar 2018 campaign against the Aggies. Both games were losses.
- Mississippi State: After turning down the hometown university on the recruiting trail, Brown caught six receptions for 167 yards in the 2017 Egg Bowl win. He then ended his 2018 loss to MSU with four catches for 61 yards.
- Vanderbilt: Brown was the most damaging against the Commodores. He thrashed Vandy with eight receptions for 174 yards and scored twice in the 2017 win, and then he hauled in nine receptions for 212 yards and a touchdown in the 2018 victory.
- South Carolina: While he only faced the Gamecocks once, he caught six passes for 115 yards with a young Deebo Samuel on the other sideline. Brown also put those numbers against future Los Angeles Rams linebacker and Super Bowl winner Ernest Jones.
Brown ascended to an NFL prospect off these games in the SEC. However, he had his largest struggles against annual national juggernaut Alabama — as he never snatched more than four passes or crossed over 49 yards receiving in three games against the Crimson Tide.
But in the end, Brown became a high-profile NFL Draft prospect and was compared to JuJu Smith-Schuster by nfl.com draft expert Lance Zierlein. He’s now one of the league’s premier wideouts with four 1,000-yard campaigns, producing his first career 90-catch campaign in 2023.