My Beaver Blog

All the speculation has turned into a formal announcement from the university. Brandon Browner has decided to enter the NFL draft. Actually, this doesn't really bother me. I keep reading about how big and fast this guy is. How he has the potential to be great. How Aric Williams got so much work because teams avoided Browner. Ehh... I just don't buy it. Did teams avoid Browner? Yes to a degree. Did teams have success when they through at him? More than he would want to admit. Did it mean a completion? Not necessarily. Browner has an uncanny ability for not locating the ball and as such got caught, quite regulary I might add, grabbing, holding or otherwise interfering with a receiver as the ball passed right over his shoulders. For his career he had 15 passes defended. This season alone he had 17 penalties against him for holding/interference. Heck, in what turned out to be his final collegiate game he turned into Notre Dame's most effective offensive weapon. It went something like this; 3rd and long, throw in the direction of Browner, defensive penalty, 1st down. Potential, maybe, NFL ready, not yet.

Granted the rules in college permit face guarding (being able to raise your arms and deflect a pass without locating the ball), but to think this sort of game will fly in the NFL where face guarding is not permitted is ludicrous. Add in the new stricter rules on DB's and contact with receivers and this guy is toast waiting to be burnt. He would have better served himself by staying another year and really working on his ability to locate the ball while in the air. If he has all the speed it should be no issue for him to run with receivers and locate the ball as they have to in order to catch it. I think he's been getting some bad advice from someone looking to profit from this (agents). I know everyone situation is different and perhaps he has good reason to chase the $ at this point. I just think he is being short sighted and I believe with another year and improved ability he could have greatly improved his value to the NFL. Only time will tell. Best of luck BB.