Brown seems to be so far under the radar, it's like he landed in the Hudson. First, he played his HS ball in Jersey. He played for UConn and won the national rushing title in 2008. He was named Big East offensive player of the year. Three games with over 200 yards, can catch, run and block. The knock on him is the level of competition he faced, but I'm not sure that this is enough to disregard him at the next level. He has published 4.5 speed, could better that in the combine and pro day workouts. He is more of an all purpose back, like Jones or I also compare him to Forte of Chicago. He does everything pretty well. Can run with some power, has some wiggle, can catch, can block, in short he does everything pretty well, but other than his stiff arm move, nothing jaw dropping. As far as character goes.... this past Christmas when his parents asked him what he wanted for a gift he said "Nothing... let's 'adopt a family'" , and they did. His first goal upon signing his pro contract? Open a soup kitchen. This offense will need another all purpose back like Jones. Brown may be better between the tackles than Jones for that matter. Yet, Brown gets completely ignored by most. I think he has the talent set to play at the NFL level... am I alone?
Havent really seem him sounds very intersting I heard several experts saying the saints sign vilma to an extension, what does that mean for us?
I watched Brown play for 3 years at Uconn. He's gonna be a very good NFL runner. He has vision,quickness, strength and the "It" factor. Those who say he doesnt have break away speed didnt watch him throughout his entire collegiate career. He many several long,big time runs. A few teams he'd fit well w/ 1. Texans- He'd be fantastic in the ZBS running to spaces 2. Eagles- Would compliment Westbrook well and fits the team's overall personality 3. Jacksonville- Would be a pretty good replacement for Fred Taylor for a "run first" team
As most of the guys here know by now, I go to UConn. Actually ate breakfast with the kid last semester before moving across campus. He is humble like that report states, and he likes lil wayne. bet you wouldnt have guessed that one?hmy: but i will disagree that he is worth drafting with the 1st round pick or 2nd. 3rd or 4th maybe, given that our most critical needs are at defense. The knock on him is correct in every aspect, that the defenses he played against were indeed average. With that o-line anyone could run the ball for 100+. Some of the positive intangibles he does have are that he has good vision, and technique. One of the best runningbacks in college in terms of his ability to maintain balance after contact., what he lacks are hands and inability to make the 1st man miss. Has an adequate stiff arm, but has the potential strength to move the pile. He can run in between tackles, but his initial burst leaves you to be wanting. Just because he caught some balls he and there, ask anyone on the team how his hands were and they would say horrendous. A runningback on the team thats better than him, Andre Dixon. He was benched in favor of Donald Brown because he couldnt seem to keep his ass out of trouble, and was coming off injury. EDIT: heres a youtube clip his teammate "Skeet" Gaulden sent me. 585 lb. squat @ 207 bodyweight. [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBClloyuz9g[/YOUTUBE]
I go to a lot of Uconn games and he is the REAL DEAL...he has no flaws and he makes very fast cuts and is fun to watch, I hope we can get him.
Cuts against who?! If your talking like, Reggie Bush like, ankle breaking cuts, definitely not. He would simply dip and shimmy against D-II caliber linebackers and defensive backs. I will say this again, had he ran against competition like Florida, Georgia or Oklahoma he wouldve got popped. Let me see the home games u possibly went to at Rensch. Most likely if u went to all of them, which i doubt, because even with student season passes I wouldnt want to see half of the competition we play. So that means this past season you saw Hoftstra, Virginia, Baylor, West Virginia, and Pitt. The three teams that had the most talent on them were arguably our Big East rivals in Rutgers, West V, and Pitt, and they tapped that ass. Playing away at Louisville, and at UNC he put up numbers but thats because Lorenzen was out and while also splitting time with Todman. Im not saying he isnt deserving of being drafted high, but just not by us. I would rather see us draft McCoy or Moreno if I had a choice.
i agree with this analysis. just dont want him wearing green & white, when we could have a premier defensive player with the first two picks.
...I thought you were gone. Why'd you come back KiD? After reading a lot of your posts, I'm beginning to doubt that you're actually in college. Reggie Bush-like cuts? Those have been really successful in the pros, huh? Brown has a completely different running style. He reminds me of Curtis Martin - he just makes one cut and gets up field. Donald Brown ran against Division II caliber linebackers and corners? When? Hofstra is I-AA - that's the only team on their schedule that should be considered weaker competition. I'm not a fan of the Big East, but there's certainly some good talent in that conference. WV, Pitt, and Rutgers may have come out on top, but Brown was still very successful: WV - 19 for 82 and a TD (4.3 ypc) in a 35-13 loss - how much success can a runner have when his team is getting blown out? Pitt - 34 for 189 and a TD (5.6 ypc) in a 34-10 loss - again, they were blown out Rutgers - 27 for 107 (4.0 ypc) in a 12-10 loss - he did all he good in a defensive struggle. If he hadn't put up these numbers, the score wouldn't have been so close. Brown destroyed Cincinnati, who went on to represent the Big East in a BCS bowl - Over 200 total yards and 4 TDs. UCONN isn't a very good team, but they were still the favorite over teams like Temple and Baylor -- Brown was supposed to put up huge numbers on them. Are you trying to say a running back only put up big numbers because the starting QB was...out? That's the most idiotic thing I've seen all month. Brown is the reason they beat Louisville. Frazer threw the ball 44 times against UNC and Brown stll managed 161 yards and a TD. Anyone would take Moreno or McCoy over Brown - they are better running backs. They'll be first round picks - Brown will be there in a the second. We have bigger holes to fill, but I wouldn't be upset if we took DB.
I have been bringing up Donald brown on these boards for the last month. The kid is a beast. He put up serious numbers on a Connecticut team that had no passing offense when lorenzen went down. I would imagine teams were throwing 8 in the box constantly. I would be doing cart wheels if the Jets snagged him in the 2nd round. There is no way he comes back to them after that. He would an ridiculous guy to have waiting in the wings. The one knock I would have on him is the amount of carries that he saw in college.
Not just trying to stir the pot here, but this comment: Has an adequate stiff arm, is so far off base I really have to question the validity of your other opinions. Brown has one of the best stiff arms I've ever seen. Even opposing coaches talked about that stiff arm, in particlar, the Buffalo coach prior to the last game of the season. UConn had NO passing game... teams loaded up for Brown and still could not stop him. You have that part backwards... no passing game means it's more difficult to run, not the other way around. Did he like... you know, hit on your sister or something? OK, j/k, but I think you are way wrong in your assessment.
The Post Combine D Brown Summary By TBJ He is now the #2 RB behind Moreno and ahead of Beanie Wells on Mayock's draft board. Don't like Mayock? Think DB is a combine wonder? Brown won the national rushing title before the combine. That by itself, even if you don't think much of the Big East makes him a consideration for top five RB this year... that's just a fact. And as Justone said, UCONN had no passing game at all... they had no QB after Lorenzen went down. Teams loaded up against him, and he still ran all over them. This idea that UCONN's O line was so great as far as run blocking goes... so how many of them are invited to the combine? Only Beatty. Will ANY of them get drafted if they were so great? Not likely. Now, Brown's combine numbers: 5'10 1/4", 210 pounds. 40: 4.51 60: 11.30 Vertical: 41 1/2" Broad jump: 10'5" Shuttle: 4.10 (best in the combine for RB so far) He isn't a combine wonder... he was just being under rated. His numbers only prove he's also a great athlete, not just a good RB. Brown is a lot like T Jones or Forte, only I think he is better than either of them. He is an all purpose back. Like any rookie, he has things to work on... we have no clue if he can pass block for instance, UCONN never passed the ball. His hands need to improve, but all rookies have some warts. The thing is, he's a great kid, coachable, humble, passed up on Christmas presents from his family to "adopt a family" instead, and wants to open a soup kitchen as the first thing he does when he gets signed. Had well over 300 carries last year. Had three 200+ yard games, including one where he had 200 before half time. He sat out some blowouts. He could have had another 400 to 500 yards if he didn't get pulled in those games. He isn't a burner, but can still break it with 4.51 speed in the forty. A well rounded, well grounded all purpose back... perfect to backup Jones. No doubt he'd be a ST's player of note as well. No ego problem with this kid. Go ahead, tell me (and Mayock) I'm wrong. We shall see....
If Brown's there in the second, I certainly wouldn't mind grabbing him. I'd say there's a 50/50 shot of him being there, possibly less now with some of the poor times posted by many RBs at the combine (I'm not saying they matter to me, but they might to NFL teams). With his style of play and his character, I see his ceiling being a Curtis Martin type, which is certainly worth the plunge at that point in the draft.
If he's there in the 4th we should take him. I would want him in the third but we don't have that pick. As long as we address our secondary we can get a rb.
We have New Orleans' pick n the third round, but Brown will be long gone by then. I think it's 75% he isnt there when out 2nd comes up. I did a mock at another site... I took V Davis in the first, Brown in the second and Herman Johnson in the third... I'd still be thrilled with that draft.
That would be awesome, especially if we sign Scott and Leonhard. I'm really torn with the first pick between going Defense or taking Nicks, as I don't think he'll last till our 2nd selection (perhaps trade down in R1, if possible to get Nicks/) If we could go Nicks, CB, then Johnson, I'd be just as happy, if not happier. I think a lot will depend on the Coles situation.
This year has some very good WR's, a very deep class at that position, and it's very tempting to fall in love with at least 8 of them. My draft philosophy has always been a need/BPA strategy. By that I mean identify the teams first 4 or 5 need positions, and then select the best player available from that group. I see our needs as: CB: We MUST get a cover cornerback, must. O Line to replace Moore A Running back. If Jones or Leon get hurt, we would be in deep trouble. More offensive line. We don't have any suitable depth at any of the five positions. One injury and it could fall apart. A blocking TE and depth behind Keller This is based on signing Scott and Leonhard. If we don't get Scott, take your pick, ILB or CB in the first round.
