Name: Pharaoh Brown
School: Oregon
Position: Tight end
Stat to know: His 75.2 run-blocking grade along with his average of 1.89 yards per route run out of the slot both ranked within the top 10 of draft-eligible tight ends.
What he does well:
- Locks on to defenders, tough for smaller linebackers to shed once engaged.
- Quick enough to execute reach blocks; has the size and lower body strength to hold down blocks.
- Should develop into useful run blocker regardless of scheme.
- Good size.
- Runs through arm tackles with ease.
- Capable of adjusting to slightly inaccurate balls while on the move.
Biggest concern:
- Runs high when blocking out of backfield, allows defenders with momentum to get underneath him and overpower.
- Will set up too high on blocks when hand isn’t on the ground; makes it too easy for a defender slap his hands out of the way to gain leverage.
- Not the sharpest route-runner. Looks clunky in and out of breaks.
- Doesn’t attack the ball out of the air.
- Good straight-line speed for his size, but not going to wow anyone athletically.
- Inconsistent hands, 10.81 percent drop rate ranked 26th out of 41 qualified draft-eligible tight ends.
- Not someone who’s going to stretch the field.
- Limited route tree.
- Suffered gruesome leg injury, his leg almost needed to be amputated.
- Multiple off-field concerns.
Player comparison: Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders
Brown has the size, strength, and quickness to develop into a good blocking tight end but shows enough technical flaws on tape where he’ll likely need a few years before he starts seeing consistent success at the NFL level; Cook graded out as a subpar run-blocker in his first few seasons but has since graded out as above-average fairly consistently. Cook has never been the primary receiving option for an offense but he’s been a reliable one with the ability to stretch the middle of the field; Brown was capable of stretching the middle of the field prior to suffering his injury, if he’s able to get back toward that form he should be able to fulfill a similar role.
Bottom line: Brown is going to be run through a gauntlet of tests and questions regarding his recovery from his leg injury. Prior to suffering it he was an explosive athlete with the size to be a force across the middle of a football field, regardless the level. The injury has had a clear effect on his athletic ability, however. Brown makes for an intriguing late-round or undrafted option for a team willing to show him some patience; given time, if he’s able to gain some of his explosiveness back and clean up his technique as a run-blocker he could become a player capable of contributing in multiple ways.
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