Noah Brown is a Swiss Army knife and a lock to make the 2022 Dallas Cowboys

Noah Brown came from Ohio State University, a school known as one of the hot beds for NFL teams to pluck talent. One would think that a draftable player like Noah Brown would come with a bit of fanfare. That certainly was not the case for Brown. In fact, when he was drafted 239^th overall in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft, he was considered an afterthought. Being drafted that late, who could blame anyone for drawing that conclusion.

There were obvious reasons as to why Brown was drafted where he was like a serious leg injury which required two surgeries, and the lack of game action during his time in Columbus. Although his time with the Buckeyes did not go as planned, he made the most out of the opportunities he was given.

Check out this spectacular catch.

As you can see by this highlight from the 2016 season, the ability is there. In that game alone against Oklahoma, he caught four touchdowns on five receptions. By season’s end, he ended up with seven touchdowns along with 32 catches for 402 yards. In total during his career at Ohio State, he caught 33 balls for 411 yards and seven touchdowns.

Although he never exactly filled the stat sheet in college, his best work was done in the blocking game.

Many were shocked that Brown put his name in and entered the 2017 NFL Draft. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks a player should do, it is ultimately up to them to make their decision and for Noah Brown, it appears it was the correct call on his part.

Being a seventh-round pick, there is an uphill battle to make the roster. However, he found his role as a blocker and special teamer which gave him the opportunity to stick with Dallas. At that time during his rookie offseason, even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones commented that he would make the team. If a player gets the Jerry Jones nod in Dallas, his chances to make the team and to be in the long-term plans are fairly safe.

Brown’s role continued to get more defined. Not so much by his receiving skills, but by being one heck of a blocker. At one point during his rookie season in 2017, Brown was rated as the number one blocking wide receiver in all of football according to Pro Football Focus.

As Brown’s career has progressed, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has figured out a good way to feature number 85 in the offense, and that is primarily in the blocking game. Moore likes to put Brown all over the field to give the Cowboys offense an advantage, whether it is a run inside or a run outside.

Noah Brown stands at 6’2” and weighs 225 pounds. By NFL wide receiver standards, he is one of the bigger players at the position in the league where the average wide out is six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. By comparison, the average NFL tight end is almost 6’4” and weighs about 255 pounds. To say Brown is a tweener is not far-fetched at all. He is practically in the middle when it comes to height and weight when comparing both positions. Due to his unique frame and skill set, many would consider him a ‘joker’ or ‘move tight end’ kind of player.

Brown’s stats just like in college will not jump off the page, but his role is very defined. And very important. Many may think letting him go is a possibility before the 2022 season, but that would be a mistake. Having a player like Noah Brown, who is arguably the best blocker among the wide receivers and tight ends currently on the roster, is a player Dallas shouldn’t consider moving on from. He will also catch a few balls from time to time when you least expect him to for a first down. Although he hasn’t caught any touchdowns in his career thus far, don’t be surprised when that all changes in the upcoming season. He’s also a core member of the special teams.

Brown really is a Swiss Army knife for the Cowboys offense and for an annual salary of just over a million dollars, that is quite the bargain. A bargain the Cowboys will hold onto at least for another season.