Tag: Tim Brown

Longtime Chiefs rival Tim Brown offers advice to wide receivers in 2024 NFL Draft

Longtime #Chiefs rival Tim Brown offered his advice to wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft during an interview with @EdEastonJr

The 2024 NFL Draft is less than a week away, and teams are scrambling to go through final scouting reports to ensure that they can secure the top talents in this year’s class.

The Kansas City Chiefs will have to deal with many variables before making decisions on draft day, but general manager Brett Veach has endured this ordeal many times.

Ahead of the Annual Player Selection Meeting, many of the top wide receiver prospects have been linked to the Chiefs in various mock drafts. Kansas City led the league in dropped passes last season and is facing uncertainty at the position while Rashee Rice remains under police investigation for a car accident that occurred in Dallas, Texas earlier this month.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. recently sat down with Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown to discuss the increase in drops around the NFL and advice he would give to this year’s wide receiver prospects.

“They’re built differently than we were back in the day,” Brown explained about the plethora of drops around the league. “I mean, these guys are long arms and taller guys for the most part. We had Randy Moss, but besides him, most of our guys getting it done were six-foot, 6-foot-1; we are talking about 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5.

“The range to reach out to catch a ball all changes, and it makes a big difference. I’ve always said that I think the perfect receiving size is six-foot-one because that guy has long enough arms to make stuff happen. But not long enough arms; that ball will be back down because his arms are so long.”

The Chiefs had the most dropped passes in the 2023 regular season with 44, and top receiver Rice dropped eight on 102 targets during his stellar rookie year.

“I think it makes a difference with these guys getting more opportunities too, and maybe back in the day, our quarterbacks wouldn’t have thrown certain passes because that’s not what we do,” Brown continued. “Not that’s not happening; today’s football balls are coming out, so I think you get put in a bad position with all these other things I mentioned. Things can happen like drops. Drops will happen.”

Names of possible interest from the Chiefs leading up to the draft include Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Florida State’s Johnny Wilson, and more. Brown shared his advice for the incoming class.

Said Brown:

“These guys are so talented; they come into the league totally different than the way we came. they come in very polished and ready to roll. I think the thing that really separated me and a lot of the great receivers from the rest is the film study that we put in and knowing your opponent better than he knows himself. Knowing exactly what he’s gonna do on third and four, third and eight, or third and ten. All these different things you’ve watched enough film on him, that you know, he’s gonna drop with his left foot and then try and hit you with his right, all these little things about him that make it very comfortable for you to go out and play the game and I don’t know if a lot of kids really (watch the film), I’m watching a game sometime, and I say he didn’t watch film.”

Brown broke every major Raiders receiving record throughout his sixteen seasons with the franchise. He was known for his professionalism and always being prepared to perform at the highest level on game day.

To Brown, preparedness is paramount to execution.

“It’s like you could tell the way he ran that route on that particular (play) you didn’t know exactly what he was gonna do,” said Brown. “You knew he was gonna be on you. You’re the number one guy, but so I think that part of the game probably goes overlooked at this particular point. But I think it is a huge part of being very successful on the football field.”

The Chiefs will have plenty to consider once they are on the clock in Detroit and with so many solid options in the draft pool, their decision could go a long way in defining the franchise’s future.

Raiders legend Tim Brown on playing Chiefs: ‘Kansas City had some of the smartest fans in the game’

Hall of Fame WR Tim Brown told #Chiefs Wire that “Kansas City had some of the smartest fans in the game” during his time with the #Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs have faced their share of Hall of Fame opponents over the years, but perhaps none were more difficult to handle than then-Oakland and Los Angeles Raider receiver Tim Brown.

Brown, who recently sat down with Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. for a lengthy interview, recounted his time playing against Kansas City during his time with the Raiders.

While the noise factor at Arrowhead Stadium noise is often discussed as the ultimate home-field advantage, Brown was one of many visiting players who felt the crushing weight of 100-plus decibels first hand.

“I’m on record as saying over the years that I’ve always thought that Kansas City had some of the smartest fans in the game,”  Brown explained to Easton. “They knew when to cheer and when not to cheer, and when something came on board for everybody gonna get quiet. They all got quiet, and at the same time, you look at that stadium. It’s an old school stadium where they’re pretty close to you.

“It’s one of the only places that I played that I would tape up my earhole of the helmet, just to try and cut back on some of that noise you hear. That fan base is incredible, man; they’re getting rewarded for a whole bunch of work that the boys did back in the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s because they deserve what they’re getting. And it’s a beautiful thing for it to happen. At the same time, my Raiders fans and boys need some love, too. So, I’m hoping that our boys can certainly help us out.”

The now-Las Vegas Raiders have the advantage of playing in a dome to amplify their crowd’s roars, but to hear Brown tell it, nothing can compare to the deafening sound of tens of thousands of Kansas Citians on their feet for a rivalry matchup.

Hall of Famer Tim Brown recalls setting NFL record for punt return touchdown vs. Chiefs in 2001

Hall of Fame WR Tim Brown sat down with our @EdEastonJr to discuss his record-setting punt return against the #Chiefs in 2001.

The AFC West is again stacked this season, with the other three teams trying to end the Kansas City Chiefs’ dominant run. The Las Vegas Raiders officially hired Antonio Pierce as their head coach after an impressive interim run, highlighted by the Christmas Day victory in Kansas City.

Retired Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown will compete in the third annual Invited Celebrity Classic on April 19-21 at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas. PGA TOUR Champions professionals will play 54 holes of stroke play for a purse of $2 million with the celebrities in a $500,000 competition.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. sat down with Brown to discuss this golf game, record-breaking punt return against the Chiefs, and the Raiders hiring Antonio Pierce.

“You would think I have many opportunities to play that course,” said Brown, a Texas native, of his experience playing at Las Colinas. “There is just something about it: when it becomes an official event, it seems like the course changes on you or something. There’s a couple of little places I know that maybe some of the guys won’t know, but I guess it doesn’t matter if you can hit the ball good.”

Brown was known for his versatility as a returner and receiver early in his NFL career but didn’t expect at 35 to be setting a record for his age returning a punt for a touchdown. The infamous play took place at the Chiefs’ expense in 2001.

“I remember not wanting to be back there; I think I started seventh on the depth chart that year. And I saw guys week after week falling, everybody’s going down, and finally (Jon) Gruden came to me and said, ‘Hey, man, I’m gonna need you to go back there and don’t worry about it, just try and catch I need somebody that I could trust to be back there to catch the ball. And I was like, okay; I got you, coach. No problem. So, that was my plan to just fair catch it, and i did fair catch it. Randy Jordan came back yelling and screaming at me, ‘You better return this ball!’ I say, Randy, if anybody touches me, me and you gonna be fighting. So I went 89 yards untouched; me and Randy Jordan are still friends today because of that play. I tell people at that stage of my career, becoming the oldest man in the league’s history to return a punt for a touchdown. I think it’s sort of put me in a different light than just being a receiver. I think that certainly helped. It didn’t help me be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but certainly, I think people had to consider that when they were looking at my Hall of Fame numbers.”

Brown last played for the Raiders over 20 years ago but has maintained his watch over the current team. He shared his thoughts on new head coach Antonio Pierce and his outspoken confidence in matchups against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“I was saying during the year when he took over, if they like it, I love it, and it seems like the boys love it. They’re feeding off his energy to play hard and tough football; it doesn’t mean they gonna win every football game. There’s nothing like seeing the team compete right down to the last second. I think even in the games they lost, you saw that happen. You saw them compete like nobody’s business, and that’s what this thing is all about. You want to see the team is getting better. The team is working hard. They’re laying it on the line, so those things mean a lot to a fan base. Obviously, it meant a lot to Mark Davis for him to retain AP (Antonio Pierce). I think the future’s bright; I don’t have a problem with him at all. I think he probably thinks he has a secret that he did go to Kansas City and beat Kansas City on Christmas Day. So Talk That Talk, brother, just back it up. I’m all good with it.”

The Invited Celebrity Classic is free for the public and has raised $500,000 for charity these past two years. Top celebrity athletes committed are Tony Romo, Albert Pujols, John Smoltz, Adam Thielen, Pudge Rodriguez, Greg Maddux and more.

Fans can register for the event at www.invitedcelebrityclassic.com

Raiders legend Tim Brown on rivalry with Chiefs: ‘Bona fide, from-the-gut hatred’

#Raiders legend Tim Brown told @EdEastonJr about his “bona fide, from-the-gut hatred” for the #Chiefs in a recent interview.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown is among the many athletes and celebrities competing in the third annual Invited Celebrity Classic on April 19-21 at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas. PGA Champions Tour pros and celebrities will be paired together all three days of competition, creating a dynamic attraction for spectators and the Golf Channel audience.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. sat down with Brown to discuss this weekend’s golf tournament and the Hall of Famer’s hatred of playing against the Chiefs.

“I can’t wait; I’ve been waiting all year for this,” Brown said, describing his excitement for the golf tournament. “I mean, for another year, I should say. … I didn’t get off to a good start last year and played a lot better on Sunday. I’m hoping to pick it up from there and play good all weekend.”

During Brown’s 16 years with the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders, he was right in the middle of his team’s rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs. He explained the mindset and feelings that both teams had for one another on the field during his tenure with the Raiders.

“Oh, the hatred, brother, bona fide from-the-gut hatred for both teams,” Brown said. “I mean, there’re not many games that, after the game, I didn’t shake hands with people. Almost every time we play Kansas City, that never happened. You find a way to, like, ‘Yeah, I’ll see you. I’ll see him later on.’ But you didn’t feel like it, man.

“Because we didn’t have a very good record versus the Chiefs for a while, it certainly made it even harder to be all nice and all that stuff after a game, but yeah, man, it’s the hatred between both teams; I think it was a reason why those rivalries were so good.”

Luckily for Brown, his days of facing Kansas City are over, and he can focus on more important things like his follow-through on drives on the links.

The Invited Celebrity Classic is free to the public and has raised $500,000 for charity over the past two years.

Champions Tour players expected to participate in this event include John Daly, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen and Colin Montgomerie.

Fans can register for the event at www.invitedcelebrityclassic.com

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. USC

See who thinks the Irish have a chance.

Notre Dame really needs to find a way to beat USC. The national title hopes are gone, but this could be key in determining the direction of the program. Win, and everything will seem fine, at least for one night. Lose, and even more questions will be raised.

Here are the prognostications from some college football experts:

Chad Johnson will give up interesting vice if this Ohio State player doesn’t win the Heisman

Ocho Cinco is giving up a big treat if Harrison Jr. doesn’t win the Heisman #GoBucks

For a player to win the Heisman Trophy, there needs to be some preseason hype, and Ohio State wide receiver [autotag]Marvin Harrison Jr.[/autotag] has plenty of it.

The junior has been on all the preseason All-American teams that I have seen with expectations going through the roof a punching a hole in the atmosphere. Former NFL wide receiver [autotag]Chad Johnson[/autotag] is adding to that hype.

In an interview with “Meet At Midfield’s” Kevin Harrish, the wide receiver former known as Ocho Cinco, said that he’d give up McDonald’s if Harrison Jr. doesn’t win the Heisman. Listen for yourself below as Johnson has the utmost confidence that the hardware will be Harrison Jr.’s after this fall.

Unfortunately, Johnson might be giving up his Big Mac’s as the last receiver to win the Heisman was Alabama’s [autotag]DeVonta Smith[/autotag] in 2020, but only 5 winners at the position all time. Smith was the first true receiver to win the trophy since Notre Dame’s [autotag]Tim Brown[/autotag] did it in 1987.

We hope Johnson is correct, but history tells us that it’s unlikely that a receiver — even one the caliber of Harrison Jr. — will take the award home this fall.

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Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

ChatGPT ranks top 10 receivers in Notre Dame history

Please note that tight ends are not included on this list.

We’ve been asking AI writing tool ChatGPT to give its opinions of the top 10 Notre Dame players by position. It’s been a great way to generate discussion and debate amongst our readers. So far, we’ve asked it to list the top quarterbacks and running backs. Now, we move onto the receivers.

Please note that this list will not include tight ends but rather pure receivers. Even though it’s becoming more difficult to differentiate between receivers and tight ends these days, they still are different enough that they need to be separated. So please don’t ask why Michael Mayer or Cole Kmet aren’t on this list, but we also will get more into that when we ask ChatGPT about Irish tight ends.

Please also note that ChatGPT’s last knowledge update was in September 2021, and this list is based on historical data that was available at that time. Also, some entries have been edited for clarity and accuracy:

Watch: Heisman winner and hall of famer aces famed 17 at Sawgrass

A Notre Dame legend aced a legendary golf hole over the weekend!

Tim Brown had the ability to make a big play from his time at Notre Dame that ended with the 1987 Heisman Trophy to his NFL career with the Raiders that eventually landed him in pro football’s hall of fame.

This weekend Brown took his excitement to a different place, and it was far from a football field.

Participating in Tim Tebow’s Celebrity Golf Tournament at The Players’ Course at Sawgrass, Brown aced the iconic 17th hole on the island green.

Brown played at Notre Dame from 1984-1987 before being selected by the Los Angeles Raiders sixth overall in the 1988 NFL draft.

Related: All of Notre Dame’s first-round NFL draft picks since 1975

Watch: Tim Brown talks to current Notre Dame football team at practice

You’d like to hear this man speak, right?

[autotag]Tim Brown[/autotag] has the distinct honor of being Notre Dame’s seventh and most recent Heisman Trophy winner, becoming such in 1987. Yes, that’s a long time to go without a Heisman Trophy winner for a program like Notre Dame, but that’s irrelevant to this discussion. What isn’t irrelevant is that Brown, who went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer, hasn’t forgotten where he came from. As such, he spoke to the current Irish at their practice:

That’s a man who has perspective. While much of it is a motivational speech that has been delivered in similar ways many times before, Brown was able to apply it specifically to the perspective of a Notre Dame football player.

No, the speech probably won’t be a factor in whether the 2023 Irish compete for a national championship, but it’s important for young players to hear from someone of his stature. Brown is a reminder of what one could be at Notre Dame, and hopefully, at least that part of his speech will stick with the current players.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

All of Notre Dame’s first round NFL draft picks since 1975

Which had the best NFL career?

Notre Dame has had a long history of winning a lot of football games and putting a bunch of talent in the pros.  You know plenty of the names that turned into NFL stars and plenty would didn’t have as great of professional careers, either.

This past NFL draft, [autotag]Kyle Hamilton[/autotag] became the latest former Notre Dame player to become a first-round NFL draft pick.  He joins a long list of Fighting Irish greats that have had their names called in the first round.

Will Michael Mayer become the latest former Fighting Irish star to hear his name called in the first round of the draft?  We’ll find out the evening of April 27.

[autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Tim Brown[/autotag], and [autotag]Bryant Young[/autotag] are just a few of the greats who have been first-round picks.  Below is the entire list of first-round NFL draft picks that Notre Dame has produced since 1975.