Marcell Dareus, 2011
Dareus, like Williams an Alabama product, headed to Buffalo as the third pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He’s also the most apples-to-apples comparison with Brown of the four players here.
Dareus was a 6-foot-3, 319-pound tackle with just modest collegiate production. In his final season with the Crimson Tide, Dareus picked up four sacks and 11 TFLs while playing on a talented line. Brown’s stats from 2019 for Auburn: four sacks, 12.5 TFLs. Both of them broke up four passes, too.
Now look at the scouting report blurbs from NFL.com for each. Dareus is up first,
“Possesses the athleticism and explosiveness to be consistently disruptive against the run and pass. Hands that don’t stop, sheds blockers quickly, and frequently uses the swim move to get to the quarterback. Also has great power to push the pocket and stand his ground adequately when run at. Blessed with great feet and outstanding lateral quickness.”
Here’s Brown,
“Defensive tackle with rare combination of size and disruptive traits who frequently bludgeoned inferior competition across from him. Brown’s snap quickness allows him to take muddy running lanes by re-setting the line of scrimmage. He has the ability to power into gaps, but he really shines when he drops his anchor to stall double-teams or punch, press and prey on runners as a two-gapper. Brown’s upright rush style means he might be more of a pressure rusher than a sack-man, but he should keep improving as a rusher with more dedication to the craft.”
Not identical by any means, but there are definite stylistic similarities and size (Brown weighs 326).
Dareus wound up being a very good player for the Bills. He bagged 5.5 sacks in each of his first two seasons then stepped up even farther. In 2013 Dareus earned a Pro Bowl berth with 71 total tackles and 7.5 sacks. That’s incredible production for an interior lineman. The 2014 season saw Dareus earn his only All-Pro nod and double-digit sack season.
Despite his strong play, the impact on the overall defense was underwhelming. Buffalo’s defense ranked 22nd, 25th and 22nd in those first three seasons and the team finished 6-10 all three years. That All-Pro season in 2014 helped spike the defense to 12th, but it was the radical upshot from the offense that carried the Bills to a 9-7 record. The Bills offense shot up from ranking 30th, 26th and 20th in those first three seasons to 4th overall.
It went downhill quickly for Dareus thereafter. He signed a $100 million contract on the first week of the 2015 season. For that investment, the Bills got six more sacks over 2.5 more seasons, one of them interrupted by a 4-game suspension. They dumped him on the Jaguars for a 6th round pick at the 2017 trade deadline. In Jacksonville, Dareus did see his first — and only, to date — postseason action that year. The Jaguars managed to get three sacks and 45 total tackles in three seasons before letting him walk this past offseason.