Marquise Brown mixes speed and strong routes to boost Chiefs’ offense

Kansas City has a new playmaker — one whose speed is just the foundation of his receiving skillset.

For the last two seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have not had a wide receiver reach the 1,000-yard mark — and 2023 was the first season since 2014 that the team did not have a single pass-catcher reach that threshold.

So in this offseason, it felt like adding a big-name free-agent wideout would have been one of general manager Brett Veach’s biggest priorities. Through the opening week of free agency, one top receiver after another went off the market. But all along, the Chiefs were focused on a player who was arguably the strongest fit among all the top veterans at the position: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

On Thursday night, Kansas City signed the former big-play threat for the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens to a one-year, $7 million contract with up to $4 million in incentives, setting up the former first-round pick to use the coming season as a “prove-it” campaign before he next hits the open market at the age of 27.

Brown’s skillset matches very well with what the team needs from a starting wide receiver. Let’s see how he could boost the Chiefs’ passing attack.

Speed, speed, speed

Brown’s player profile begins with remarkable speed. At Oklahoma Pro Day before the 2019 NFL Draft, Brown ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash. That long speed shows up on deep pass routes, making him the logical candidate to take over as the team’s primary deep threat following the release of Marquez Valdes-Scantling. In Arizona, Brown lined up as an outside receiver on 72% of his passing snaps.

When given a free release, Brown explodes into his routes — and then continues to gain speed as he heads downfield on vertical patterns. His top speed can eliminate the 10 or more yards of cushion outside cornerbacks tend to give him at the snap — and destroy the angles taken by deep safeties.

When he is faced with tighter coverage at the snap, Brown shows the quick feet and sudden movements he needs to get cornerbacks out of balance. That can give him a step on a defender — and prevents them from playing too aggressively, since an overstep can lead to a blown coverage and a huge gain.

That is the fear that a deep threat should instill in coverage defenders; it’s an asset that the receiver (and the offense) can utilize. While Valdes-Scantling had safety-pushing speed, he was unable to build a wider route tree from there.

Brown, however, can use his deep speed to create open windows on shorter, breaking routes. On comeback routes to the sideline, he does an excellent job of selling a deep pattern with multiple gear shifts to keep cornerbacks on their heels. This gives him more ways to win on the outside; he can do more than simply get behind the last line of pass coverage.

Route running at all three levels

Like Valdes-Scantling, Brown is dangerous on deep routes — but there is so much more to his skillset. His speed is complemented by quickness and acceleration which makes him hard to cover on short and intermediate routes, too.

On crossing patterns — a staple in the Chiefs’ passing attack — Brown gets into his route fast and takes the proper angles to create separation against man coverage. At the same time, he shows awareness of zone defenders by decelerating into throwing windows and securing the completion as coverage closes in.

It’s not just Brown’s ability to navigate the middle of the field. It’s also his willingness to go into traffic that gives him a wider range of abilities from the outside. He may not play through contact like some others do — but he isn’t afraid of it, either.

That makes him a confident receiver on curl and dig routes, along with other in-breaking patterns where a head-hunting safety might be waiting to take his head off. Brown won’t be a constant tackle-breaker, but he is quick and slippery enough to sometimes earn yards after contact.

In that same vein, Brown is a solid option for perimeter screens and other short throws into space. He reads blocks well — and in open space, is shifty enough to put a lot of pressure on pursuing defenders.

Playing strength

Listed at 5 feet 9 and 180 pounds, Brown will naturally have less playing strength than some other wideouts — but not as much less as you might think. He is a tough, fearless player who has persevered through injuries for spurts of his career.

On the field, this shows up when he competes for throws in tight coverage. He attacks the ball at its highest point in the air, working through (or over) a physical defender. He is natural at boxing out defenders by sealing off their hands. This is in sharp contrast to Valdes-Scantling, who could not go after the ball in the air.

The bottom line

Brown is a great fit for the Chiefs. He has the unique speed that the offense values, along with route versatility that gives the receiving corps unpredictability in formations and personnel.

In Kansas City, he will make plays in many different ways — and undoubtedly raises both the ceiling and floor of the unit in 2024.