The Las Vegas Raiders have certainly had a busy start to free agency. The team moved on from three starting offensive linemen, signed a pass-rushing star and gave a big contract to a backup running back. While not all of the moves have made sense, the one that has the highest approval rating is the signing of wide receiver John Brown.
After the Patriots spent big money on Nelson Agholor, the Raiders were in the market for a speedy receiver to pair with Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards. Brown is in the latter stages of his career, but he is still one of the best deep threats in the entire NFL.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he wrote about every team’s best signing so far in free agency. For the Raiders, that was none other than Brown. Here is what he had to say about the move:
“Signing Brown to replace Nelson Agholor has the potential to be excellent business, however. Only Tyreek Hill scored more deep touchdowns than the six Agholor scored in 2020. While Henry Ruggs III is supposed to provide that threat within the offense, he didn’t as a rookie. Brown has been a consistently excellent deep receiver in his career and should provide a smart insurance plan for that role.”
The Raiders are expected to give Ruggs and Edwards bigger roles in 2021, so they won’t have as big of a need for a veteran receiver like they did last season. Still, Brown is a quality receiver who Derek Carr will be able to trust down the field and to get open. Considering the contract and the need, this was a fantastic signing by Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden to round out their wide receiver corps.
