It’s time for the Baltimore Ravens to stop placating Marquise Brown and either expect him to step up or give his snaps to someone else.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown was expected to take a massive leap forward this season. But nine games down, Brown has been underwhelming and it might be time to take off the kid’s gloves when dealing with him.
Following the team’s Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in which Brown was targeted just twice with one reception for a three-yard touchdown, the second-year wide receiver vented his frustrations about the lack of looks in a now-deleted tweet. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the coaching staff all said the right things, giving him some public support and promising to get him more involved in the offense. Two games later and it’s Brown that isn’t holding up his end of the bargain.
Sunday night against the New England Patriots, Brown had arguably his worst game this season. Jackson targeted him plenty enough, sending six passes his way. But Brown failed to show much effort, speed, or physicality to make plays, ultimately catching just two of those passes for 14 yards while watching one target turn into an interception.
Former Ravens receiver Qadry Ismail didn’t pull any punches when talking about Brown’s effort during the game, often lambasting the notion of Brown being a No. 1 receiver.
Ismail diagnosed some of Brown’s issues, calling him out for not accelerating at the top of the route or being physical enough at the point of attack while questioning his effort.
This isn’t the first time Brown has been called out for a seeming lack of effort or heart. Earlier in the season, Brown ducked out of bounds after a one-yard reception to avoid contact even though there was a lane inside that could have allowed a big play after the catch. Considering Brown got the bulk of the snaps (94%) among the wide receivers in Week 10 and no less than 85% of the offensive snaps since Week 5, what we’ve seen from him this year simply is not good enough. Until Brown can prove he’s capable of doing the things Ismail pointed out, I believe it’s time to give some of the other guys a bigger role and a bunch of his snaps.
Baltimore has been getting consistent results from Willie Snead for the past three weeks, seeing him catch 14 of his 18 targets for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Devin Duvernay has been getting an increase in his snap share and producing with it, catching seven of his nine targets for 115 yards over the last four weeks. Combined with tight end Mark Andrews and an increase in targets to the running backs, the Ravens’ passing offense could see improvements if they actually gave the productive guys more opportunities.
Brown was expected to dominate this season. He was entering his second year, a time when many young players note the game begins to slow down for them and a year’s worth of coaching has given them some of the tips and tricks necessary to turn their physical talent into in-game production. Brown had even more going for him this year, being fully healed from a foot injury that kept him out of training camp and limited his rookie campaign. An increase in weight without a loss of top-end speed pointed to Brown balling out for Baltimore in 2020.
Brown certainly isn’t alone in disappointing this season but the Ravens can’t allow him to not grow as a player and become a distraction at the same time. If Brown is going to complain and not produce, it’s time for some tough love to send a message that he needs to step up or sit down.
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