Shook: Marquise Brown best Cards’ candidate to be 1st-time Pro Bowler
Jul 4, 2022, 6:00 PM
(Tyler Drake/Arizona Sports)
The Arizona Cardinals made some noise this offseason, particularly at the NFL Draft when they shipped their first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for the services of wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Entering his fourth year as a pro, expectations are high for Brown’s first season in the Valley, as he reunites with his former college quarterback from Oklahoma, Kyler Murray.
The receiver had a career year in 2021 with the Ravens, catching 91 passes for 1,008 yards to go with six touchdowns.
Brown has yet to make a Pro Bowl in his young career, but NFL.com’s Nick Shook thinks he is the mostly likely Cardinal to earn their first career selection.
Shook’s reasoning is pretty simple: Brown’s relationship with Murray and the six-game absence of star receiver DeAndre Hopkins should make for a productive 2022.
Brown received his wish during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft when Baltimore sent him to Arizona, where the receiver known as “Hollywood” will reunite with former Oklahoma teammate Kyler Murray. They already have quite a rapport established from their Sooner days, and with DeAndre Hopkins facing a six-game suspension, Brown will man a significant role with the Cardinals from Week 1.
With Hopkins’ absence, Brown becomes the clear No. 1 option to start the season in a wide receiver room that lost Christian Kirk to free agency in the offseason.
He joins fellow receivers A.J. Green, Rondale Moore and Antoine Wesley in Arizona until Hopkins returns in Week 7.
Brown’s production has increased every season he’s been in the NFL, and maybe re-kindling with Murray could continue to see his numbers rise and result in a Pro Bowl selection.
Perhaps Kliff Kingsbury and Murray can unlock Brown, who is coming off his first 1,000 yard season, in ways the Ravens couldn’t. If that happens, we just might see Brown in the Pro Bowl.