What WR Noah Brown brings to the Washington Commanders

Taking a closer look at the Commanders new wide receiver.

The Washington Commanders weren’t as active as expected with waiver claims after teams had to cut down from 90 players to just 53 this week. In fact, they opted not to claim anyone, despite having the second priority on waivers. They did, however, sign veteran free agent wide receiver Noah Brown. Listed at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Brown spent most of his career with the Cowboys but played for the Texans last year, where he caught 33 passes for 567 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Texans cut him due to having a number of strong receiving options, especially after trading for Stefon Diggs and signing Nico Collins to a three-year, $75 million extension this offseason. That left Brown as the odd man out, but while he was the odd man out in Houston, he could well become a significant contributor in Washington. Brown instantly offers the Commanders more size than they previously had at the position, both in terms of height and frame. But he’s far more than just a big body. The Commanders and particularly Kliff Kingsbury to covet speed at the receiver position to attack down the field and he has plenty of that to offer. 

This clip shows Brown challenging corners down the field, despite not getting the ball. On the first play of the clip, Brown lines up against Bengals cornerback DJ Turner, a second round pick back in 2023. Turner ran a 4.26 40-yard dash, so he’s got about as much straight line speed as you can get in an NFL player. Brown gives him a little stutter step at the line of scrimmage and then takes off down the sideline. Turner doesn’t play the route particularly well, but despite his speed, Brown runs away from him down the sideline. On the second play of the clip, Brown lines up against Browns’ cornerback Greg Newsome, who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash. Brown gets maybe a little too far inside to avoid any kind of jam, but has the speed to still run away from Newsome even as he breaks the route back outside towards the sideline. 

That type of deep speed is definitely something that will appeal to the Commanders. Kingsbury wants to be able to attack down the field and having that type of speed opposition Terry McLaurin will give opposing defenses a lot to think about. But Brown isn’t just a speedster to attack down the field. He’s a tough, physical receiver that doesn’t shy away from contact. 

On this play against the Bengals, Brown aligns in a stacked set to the left. He runs a simple spot or hook route, spotting up underneath the coverage. There’s nothing fancy about the route, he just breaks it off quickly while the coverage is sitting off due to a Cover-0 blitz. This enables Brown to make himself an available target to beat the blitz, which the quarterback uses. One Brown gets the ball in his hands, you see the toughness and physicality. He attacks the nearby defenders head on and fights through contact to pick up every available yard, despite his helmet being ripped off in the process. 

That toughness after the catch makes Brown a good receiver after the catch. The Texans often used him on things like choice routes, which you wouldn’t typically see bigger receivers run due to a lack of quickness. But they put him in those positions because they knew while he might not separate from the coverage as quickly as smaller, shiftier receivers, he would be able to fight through contact and pick up yards after the catch.