Evan Silva of Rotoworld took the time to re-watch Bryce Brown’s snaps from 2012. He was then kind enough to share his thoughts.
Brown is built powerfully to the point that he almost looks wide. He is physical with plus burst and acceleration, and genuinely rare speed for a man his size. During Brown’s coming-out Week 12 demolition of the Panthers — he rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns — ESPN’s Jon Gruden described Brown as “a big back who can get the corner and finish.” Brown consistently runs through arm tackles. Despite weighing at least 15 more pounds than both David Wilson (breakdown here) and Lamar Miller (breakdown here), Brown possesses similar breakaway jets in the open field. Brown is not quite a punishing runner, but I think he could develop that aspect of his game. He flashed the ability to be a runner who piles up yards after contact, relentlessly shucking tacklers.
Another positive on Brown’s rookie tape was his pass-catching ability. He has natural hands and catches the football with them as opposed to letting passes get into his body. I thought the latter was an issue with David Wilson.
I also thought Brown demonstrated some nifty footwork — particularly on upfield cutbacks — but there was limited wiggle to his game. He doesn’t try to make defenders miss with lateral jukes or shake and bake. If Chip Kelly‘s Eagles get Brown to perform more professionally — running within offensive design and becoming ball secure — he will be an ideal complement to shifty, elusive starter LeSean McCoy. And I think Brown could be an every-down sustainer if McCoy went down again.
Good stuff. Evan knows football and does his homework.
I think Brown could have a huge year if he can clean up his mistakes from last year and stay focused. We see young players with strange backgrounds (and his is strange) sometimes struggle with success. Hopefully Chip Kelly and the new staff will stay on top of Brown. He’s got big time potential.
