The Tennessee Titans face arguably the NFL’s best wide receiver in Michael Thomas against the New Orleans Saints this week.
But Tennessee has its own rising star at WR1, and AJ Brown’s teammates are pushing him to have a big game against the Saints on Sunday.
To be more specific — former Saint and current Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro.
“Kenny always reminds me,” Brown said in a report by AtoZ Sports Nashville. “He’s like, ‘Michael Thomas is working right now. He’s working.’ So, in between periods, he’s telling me ‘Go do something.’ He was telling me that Michael Thomas came in his rookie year demanding the ball, this and that. He tells me just keep working at it and just keep building that confidence in yourself.”
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The Titans’ defense is going to need to know where Thomas is at all times, and Vaccaro knows that all too well having shared a sideline with him.
“Mike wants to be the best player that’s ever put on the shoes,” he said. “You don’t see the behind the team stuff. You see the incredible catches, the flexes, but I knew Day One, the way he practiced, the way he walked around, he wanted to be that. I told A.J. Brown, I saw that Michael Thomas’s rookie year. Every day catching balls, working on timing with Drew, every single day, an hour after practice.”
Thomas has had a monumental year, leading the league in catches and yards with 133 receptions for 1,552 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Brown has also been a force for the Titans, and totals 47 receptions for 893 yards and seven touchdowns.
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He had another strong performance in last week’s 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans, posting eight receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown.
Expect a big game from both players when the two teams face each other at 12 pm CST on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.