Early in his career with the Cardinals, now-Bills wide receiver John Brown got to play with one of the best in the business in Larry Fitzgerald.
Now Brown is trying to pay it forward.
Brown himself was a third-round pick out of Division II Pittsburgh State. The now 30-year-old, seven-year vet recalls that he was the 17th receiver to be drafted in 2014. Sounds like he has plenty of motivation right there alone. But he also got some Fitzgerald and his old quarterback Carson Palmer he revealed, and evidently, Brown passed that along to some of his new teammates recently.
“I had like, a little flashback,” Brown told KSN-TV while discussing the recent 2020 NFL Draft. “Once the players were getting drafted, I was able to reach out to some of those guys.
“I sat back and thought about it, once I got drafted, Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer was the first people to text me before any other coaches did or anything. That’s something that really stuck out to me, so I hit the guys with the same thing he hit me with.”
Brown also mentioned how grateful he was for Fitzgerald in regard to things he showed him on the field as well.
“He always taught me to practice like it was my last and also give everything that you have,” Brown said.
At the 2020 draft, the Bills took plenty of new teammates Brown will get to know well. First there’s Gabriel Davis and Isaiah Hodgins, the two big wideouts Buffalo selected. Then there’s running back Zack Brown and quarterback Jake Fromm. At some point on draft night, it sounds like a few of these guys got some words of wisdom from Brown, which maybe one day they themselves will pass along to rookie teammates. The full Fitzgerald-effect coming full circle in Buffalo.
[lawrence-related id=60673,60621,60616,60608]