The Las Vegas Raiders added a veteran wide receiver in former Buffalo Bill John Brown to bolster a young position group with depth and talent.
The Las Vegas Raiders hoped to keep Nelson Agholor in town for another few years after he had a great debut season with the Silver and Black. Agholor signed a one-year “prove it” deal and he certainly did that as he earned a 2 year, $26 million contract with the New England Patriots just a year removed from signing for nearly the minimum.
The Raiders needed to replace the veteran receiver and they did so by bringing in former Arizona Cardinal, Baltimore Raven, and Buffalo Bill John Brown on a one-year deal. Brown had a down year in Buffalo last season due to injury and maybe looking to “prove it” as well by signing for just $3.75 million that can go up to $5.5 million with incentives.
In 9 games with Buffalo last year, he totaled 33 catches for 458 yards and 3 touchdowns on 52 targets which would put him on a similar pace to Agholor’s 2020 totals had he played the full season. If Brown is still the player that he has been over the last seven years of his career then this is an incredible value signing for the Raiders.
Brown has actually been more productive than Agholor over the course of his career, racking up 1,300 more yards and 5 more touchdowns despite playing just 9 games more than Agholor. The veteran also has two 1,000 yard seasons in his career in 2015 and 2019 and has been a tremendous deep threat as well.
The Raiders needed a bit of good news on the offense after all of their moves on that side of the ball so far have been shedding talent and getting cap relief so this is a nice change. Brown may not have been at the top of the team’s wish list with players like Chris Godwin and Kenny Golladay potentially available but he fills a major need and can be a great player in Silver and Black.
In recent years the Raiders have squeezed good to great seasons out of receivers like Michael Crabtree, Nelson Agholor, and Jordy Nelson who were looking for new challenges and they hope the trend will continue with John Brown. At his best, he can be a number one receiver and that is precisely what the Raiders have been looking for this offseason.