John Brown, wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals
Brown is coming off a disappointing campaign that saw his numbers drop from 1,003 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2015 to 517 yards and two scores in 2016.
Things should look up this season. Brown recently had a cyst removed from his spine that severely hampered his productivity last year.
“I most definitely feel confident,” Brown said. “Since they found out the situation, my body has been feeling better. I am doing the usual, which I couldn’t do when I was going through this process.”
Head coach Bruce Arians noted Brown’s explosiveness in a recent practice.
“Smoke looks like John Brown,” coach Bruce Arians said, per Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic. “A couple of those routes he ran, he did not run one route like that last year. Knock on wood, it stays that way.”
Smoke is, of course, Arians’ nickname for Brown.
Brown will obviously still compete for targets with veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald. But with Michael Floyd completely out of the picture, it will be Brown soaking up a lot of quarterback Carson Palmer’s attention now that he is in full health.
It will not be surprising to see Brown nudge his receiving yards back up over 1,000 and perhaps score double-digit touchdowns.