Noah Brown, WR, Ohio State: 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Strengths

Noah Brown was a very physical player overall at Ohio State. Some of his aggressiveness shows in his contested catches but especially in his run blocking. While receivers’ run blocking is not a big plus, it could help in the long run getting on the field as a potential starter.

This could put him on special teams as a rookie and then eventually could get on the field as a backup or low-end starter. In the game against Michigan in 2016, this play shows the great toughness as a run blocker, using his size and strength to box out the defender. This creates space on the outside for the running back is what you want with the effort in run blocking.

In a short area, Brown usually can create separation with a good initial burst. Most of the routes he is open on are usually routes like comebacks, short curls, and slants. In this play against Michigan in 2016, Brown is going against man coverage from cornerback Jourdan Lewis. He uses a short stutter step then sells the route and breaks off the short dig route to the inside and makes the catch for a first down.

And finally, Brown is very good in contested catches and is projected as a possession receiver in the NFL. He is a relatively consistent as a natural hands catcher with double-digit receptions in those two games combined.

This was displayed especially during the 2016 Oklahoma game, where he had a breakout game and showed promise as a red zone threat at the next level. Here are a few of those touchdown catches.

Brown shows a nice stutter step on the post route and boxes out the corner to make the touchdown catch against man coverage.

Brown shows some ability as a deep threat with great concentration and hands to make a nice catch near the sideline for the touchdown against man coverage.

This play was just spectacular and was one of the best catches I saw in college football last year. Brown was going against zone coverage and when the ball was thrown, he kept his eyes on it the whole time.

When he turned around, he caught the ball on the cornerbacks back, displaying strong hands and amazing concentration to not drop the ball when going to the ground for the touchdown.

And then finally, Brown was good against zone coverage and sells the comeback route very well and shows some nice footwork keeping his feet in bounds for the touchdown.

While he is raw as a route runner and a receiver in general, he flashes some nice qualities as a starting receiver that can translate to the NFL.

Weaknesses

While Brown has the talent to be a starting caliber receiver in the NFL, he only has one year as a starting receiver and was not utilized as such consistently last year at Ohio State. Brown having less than 500 yards and scoring more half his touchdowns in one game is definitely concerning for NFL teams with underwhelming production in 2016.

Brown is a raw receiver and has to work on route running and separating against cornerbacks on deep routes, especially against press man coverage. This is probably because he does not show the acceleration to separate consistently and that is a big part in projecting him at the next level against the top cornerbacks.

At times, he has good initial quickness but his deep speed is the biggest concern on film. In this game against Michigan in 2016, Brown is going against press man coverage and struggles to separate on the streak route. This shows in other games as well when he is running deep routes down the field and his top end speed has to be questioned.