Arizona Cardinals - Fantasy News

John Brown - Posts career lows in 2016

1/5/17

NFL

Arizona Cardinals

John Brown

Heading into training camp, the Cardinals boasted arguably the deepest corps of wideouts in the NFL, with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Brown, and second-year pro J.J. Nelson among its ranks. Almost immediately, though, the hard knocks began to trickle in, first in the form of a concussion that wiped away all preseason action for Brown. While he was able to suit up in the regular season opener, his production wavered significantly from week to week, as he recorded exactly one reception on three occasions and tallied five-plus catches in the others, including 10 grabs and 144 yards in Week 4. However, the campaign took a dark turn upon his diagnosis of a sickle-cell trait in Week 7. During his final nine appearances of the season, his share of the offensive snaps experienced wild swings, ranging from 28 to 81 percent. The preceding was likely dependent upon the level of fatigue induced in a given contest, but he rarely made his presence felt, resulting in career lows across the board by season's end. As he embarks on the offseason, his and the Cardinals' focus will be on controlling the trait so he can reestablish himself as the deep threat he represented prior to 2016.