Detroit Lions 2019 NFL Draft: Golden Tate replacements

Day One: A.J. Brown, Wide Receiver, Ole Miss

A.J. Brown is one of the many talented wide outs at the University of Mississippi. Brown is an incredible talent and that is easy to see every time you watch him. Brown can catch the ball well and has strong hands.

Brown, over the course of this current season, has 60 receptions for 805 yards and five touchdowns. Last year, when he broke out as a sophomore, he recorded 75 receptions for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also got work as a return man in 2017; recording eight punt returns for forty-seven yards.

What makes him such a good replacement for Golden Tate however is his ability to create yards after the catch. Just read what NFL Network media analyst Daniel Jeremiah wrote about Brown on NFL.com.

"“[Brown] is best after the catch. He lacks elite burst, but has some wiggle to make defenders miss and breaks a lot of tackles because of his power. He is extremely competitive with the ball in his hands”."

This sounds a lot like what Tate did for the Lions’ offense. Brown will almost definitely be drafted in the first round of the draft this year, barring an injury or unforeseen crisis. While it would be uncomfortable to see the Lions take another wide receiver this early, his talent and abilities would be tempting to add to the offense.

Brown, as a rookie, would probably see the third most targets from Matthew Stafford, after would-be wide receiver teammates Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. I would expect Brown to get around 60 targets, 30 receptions, around 450 yards, and four touchdowns.

Brown is a reliable pass catcher who can do serious damage after the catch. There are other needs for Detroit to address in the first round of the draft this year, but if they really want a Tate replacement then don’t be surprised if they look extensively into A.J. Brown this year.