Last season, wide receiver Hollywood Brown was lost for the season in the very first preseason game. He didn’t return until Week 16, offering nothing for fantasy football. Opting to return to the Kansas City Chiefs for another year, is there an opportunity for Brown to become a fantasy factor playing alongside Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Travis Kelce?
Hollywood Brown Fantasy Outlook
There’s not much of Brown’s 2024 that we have to evaluate. He played two regular-season games, failing to run a full complement of routes in either.
If we include the postseason, Brown played in five games. He never reached double-digit fantasy points and averaged 5.62 fantasy points per game.
It is noteworthy that, despite having just returned from IR, the Chiefs included Brown among the players they rested in a meaningless Week 18 game. They thought highly enough of him to view him as someone worth protecting.
After what was essentially a lost season in what was supposed to be a “prove it” year for Brown, he opted to return to the Chiefs on another one-year deal.
Source: Marquise Brown re-signing 1 year worth up to 11M with the #Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/Mmmq4bEI2G
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 8, 2025
At 28 years old, Brown is hoping for a solid year that will earn him what will likely be the last substantial contract of his career in 2026. He has all the motivation in the world.
We’ve seen Brown as a very effective receiver in the past. In 2021, he averaged 14.1 PPG, finishing as the WR21. Brown left the Ravens for the Cardinals in 2022, but still posted a solid 13.0 PPG. In 2023, though, the wheels kind of fell off, with him falling to just 9.6 PPG.
It’s now been three years since Brown was a trustworthy fantasy starter. He returns to a Chiefs team with Rice as the likely WR1 and a rapidly rising Worthy as the WR2.
Vintage Patrick Mahomes could easily support three fantasy-relevant wide receivers plus Travis Kelce. This newer version of Mahomes manages games and whips out his magic wand to engage in wizardry only when necessary. That guy who throws fewer than 30 touchdowns a season cannot.
With that said, Brown belongs on the fantasy radar. Kelce is declining, and the Chiefs want to take more work off his plate during the season. They were left with no choice last year due to all the injuries. If everyone stays healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kelce wound up third or fourth in targets.
Brown’s average draft position (ADP) sits at WR57. I have him at WR58, which is essentially the same.
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The value in Brown is that he will have weeks where he randomly scores or catches five passes. In deeper leagues, that’s a solid Flex play. Plus, he’s a bit of a handcuff wide receiver, as he stands to benefit should Rice or Worthy miss time.
Brown is a fine pick as your WR5 or WR6. He’s not someone you should go out of your way to draft, but if he’s the guy you think has the most upside when his name is near the top of the “best available player” list, by all means, push the button.
Dan Fornek’s Hollywood Brown Fantasy Projection
Hollywood Brown signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2024 season to try to pair with a quarterback to boost his production. Unfortunately, things went awry almost instantly.
Brown was injured on his first preseason reception, knocking him out for the first 15 weeks of the season. He eventually returned to the lineup, catching nine of 15 targets for 91 yards in two regular-season games. Unfortunately, Brown failed to make an impact during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run (five receptions for 50 yards in three games). The veteran receiver elected to re-sign in Kansas to another one-year deal to boost his value in free agency again in 2025.
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When given a chance, the veteran receiver has to show the ability to be a productive NFL receiver. He has had one 1,000-yard season in his career and at least six receiving touchdowns in his first three professional seasons. Brown’s success has also translated to fantasy with two top-30 finishes in 2021 (14.1 PPG, WR21) and 2022 (13.0 PPG, WR27).
Brown could be a perfect pairing with Patrick Mahomes, but the path to consistent targets is thin behind Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy. His presence is probably more helpful in real life than fantasy, but he will still be capable of putting up a big week if he can get behind a defense for a long touchdown. He should be considered a boom-or-bust WR3 or FLEX option, especially when bye weeks start to hit.
