If there was one thing that jumped off the page at you about Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown other than his impressive overall stats (52 catches for 1,051 yards and nine total touchdowns), it was how efficient he was.
In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he was one of the most efficient wide receivers in the entire NFL last season.
Brown made the top 10 in three of the four different categories PFF uses to measure efficiency, including yards per route run (No. 3), PFF receiving grade (No. 10) and passer rating when targeted (No. 4).
The only category Brown did not make the top 10 in was catch rate.
It’s also important to note that from Week 7 on when Ryan Tannehill took over as starter, Brown posted the third-highest PFF grade among all wide receivers, behind only Michael Thomas and Julio Jones.
The Ole Miss product’s 20.2 yards per reception in 2019 was also the second-best mark in the NFL, and he is the first player in the Super Bowl era to record 1,000 yards and over 20 yards per reception as a rookie.
There will undoubtedly be people out there who think this kind of efficiency is unsustainable and might lead to Brown having similar or even worse numbers in his sophomore campaign.
While that’s certainly possible, Brown has more than enough room to regress in efficiency and still have the same or better season.
For starters, Brown is going to have a full 16 games with Tannehill, who he clearly has a strong chemistry. Brown recorded 778 of his 1,051 yards and four of his five 100-yard games in the 10 contests Tannehill started.
Brown’s target share was also somewhat low, as it sat at 18.7 percent. PFF projects he’ll see an increased target share in 2020 to about 24 percent.
If Brown can take advantage of an increased target share and a full 16-game season with Tannehill under center, and maintain his ridiculous efficiency, he’ll become a superstar in his second season.
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