Baltimore WR Daniel Brown is everybody’s favorite underdog. The darkhorse, sneaky-good athlete is on the crux of a crowded competition for wideout that has been discussed here on COVER32/Ravens.
Or is he?
COVER32/Ravens has discovered that Brown has been working diligently this offseason, and has put on about 30 lbs. of muscle, while fine tuning his speed.
That sounds like a tight end-type of pass catcher doesn’t it?
Sources have confirmed that Brown trained with Matt Gates at Fit Speed in Boca Raton, Florida, and with Tony Ponton, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Baltimore.
Ponton, a certified trainer, said that Brown was bulking up for a “Slot WR/TE-type position.”
“We were wroking on getting his muscle bulk up, it was good weight gained,” said Ponton. “It was important to keep his speed in the midst of all of it.”
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Did it work?
“A lot of NFL players don’t like the reps I put them through (because they are tough), but it turned out really good for Daniel,” Ponton recalled. “He worked hard.”
“He’s going to be a champion like my Coastal Carolina baseball team,” Ponton boasted, referring to the recent College World Series champs. “Chants up!”
In the WR competition, Brown would have been behind Steve Smith Sr., Mike Wallace, Kamar Aiken, Chris Matthews, Michael Campanaro, Breshad Perriman and also battling rookies Keenan Allen and Chris Moore.
In a bigger WR/TE competition, there are less sure prospects: Maxx Williams, Crockett Gilmore, Dennis Pitta, Benjamin Watson, WR transplant Darren Waller, and currently suspended Nick Boyle.
Late Friday, the Ravens announced that Darren Waller is suspended for four games for violating substance abuse policy. Though he can practice, he is now odd man out.
That makes this transition for Brown even more possible.
If he were an exclusive H-Back/Slot position, it seems the only competition would be FB Kyle Juszczyk.
“He wound up around 250-255,” Ponton told me, “and he is still going to be faster than most linebackers.”
The 6’5” Brown now becomes a very interesting prospect, if the change pans out. His ball skills have shone every chance he has been given. He even blocked a punt in the 2015 preseason.
We will see if this underdog has his day.
