NFL Rumors: 3 AFC Teams that need WR John Brown
John Brown is still somehow on the market while the NFL arms race on the offensive side of the ball continues. As the season wears on, it seems that Brown's estimated wait time is decreasing. However, some teams could use the wide receiver today. Here are three teams in need of John Brown's services.
Three AFC teams who should target John Brown
#1 - Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers just lost Juju Smith-Schuster for the season. Without Smith-Schuster to soak up double teams, defenses will focus on Chase Claypool, putting the second-year receiver in a tough position. With John Brown, defenses would have to choose who to double team. This would reopen the passing game for the Steelers.
Steelers expected to put JuJu Smith-Schuster on injured reserve and are fearful he will miss rest of the season after injuring his shoulder vs Broncos, per sources.
If John Brown can show up in the same shape he was back in 2019, when he had over 1000 receiving yards, and six touchdowns, the Steelers would be just fine in the air.
#2 - Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos also suffered injuries throughout their wide receiver room. Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, and Courtland Sutton have all had injury problems this season. K.J. Hamler is out for the season with a torn ACL. Jerry Jeudy is working his way back from a high ankle sprain and may miss a few more weeks with the injury.
Courtland Sutton missed all of 2020 with a torn ACL and was questionable for the game over the weekend. If his availability continues to slide, the Broncos could be without their top three receivers for the near future. Adding John Brown to mitigate this makes a lot of sense. After losing two games in a row, the Broncos need to act fast to stop the slide.
John Brown also spent time with the Raiders this preseason before ultimately getting cut. Adding Brown would give the Broncos a possibly useful scouting report on the Raiders before their matchup in Week Six. That would be an added bonus for the Broncos.
#3 - New England Patriots
The Patriots are attempting to work their way back to relevance after opening the season 1-3. With a win over the Texans, the Patriots are now 2-3. To keep the momentum going, the Patriots need to grow offensively. One quick way to grow would be to sign John Brown to the squad.
Brown spent 2019 and 2020 with the Bills, so the Patriots would have the added bonus of getting a scouting report on what could be the best team in the AFC. Considering they are still technically in a divisional race, any added bonus to bring the teams together is worth considering.
The Patriots currently have the 26th-ranked offense and the fifth-ranked defense, so it is clear where the team needs to get better. Lastly, the Patriots were unafraid to sign free agents in the offseason, so they should remain active during the season as they attempt to rebuild the offense.