The Jacksonville Jaguars wanted to bolster their wide receiver corps, but instead of setting their sights on Cooper Kupp, or Tee Higgins, they took a flyer on Dyami Brown, who had a quiet start to his NFL career but suddenly got hot in the 2024 playoffs. Based on comments from general manager James Gladstone, the Jags expect him to pick up where he left off.
Gladstone met with the local media following the first wave of free agency and gushed about Brown's massive upside, pointing out that he was impressed with his strong finish to 2024.
"Yeah, I think it's easy to look at Dyami's career path and trajectory and know that he's ascending right the way that he closed out last season was nothing short of impressive, and we look for him to carry that into his one year contract with us," Gladstone said. "He took a bet on himself that a year from now, given the opportunity that he sees here with the Jacksonville Jaguars, that he's going to take another step and earn an even larger contract."
Gladstone continued, "And you know what he provides just on a vertical plane and in run-after-catch scenarios, it's something that is extremely exciting, extremely alluring for our offensive staff, and I think that he'll be able to take another step to expand his game, and we'll see him come to life in the same ways that he did towards the end of the season with Washington this last season, right off the bat, well, also expanding his role to fit what we're intending on doing this coming season."
As Gladstone, pointed out, Brown became a key contributor for the Washington Commanders, but what about his first three seasons? A third-round pick in the 2021 draft, the North Carolina product was a non-factor early in his NFL career, registering a combined 17 receptions for 308 yards with two touchdowns.
And that's the thing, Brown always flashed in training camp but quickly disappeared once the regular season came. It wasn't until fellow receiver Noah Brown suffered an injury, that he really stepped up.
Commanders head coach Kliff Kingsbury also credited Brown's change to a more professional approach for his success in 2024, noting that he had a more business-like attitude. On the other hand, Washington knew that it was going to afford to keep him around after his playoff heroics.
Now it will be up to Brown to prove that last year was just the start. The fact that he'll have another chance to hit the open market in 2026 should be more than enough to incentivize him to keep playing at a high level. Below's full Gladstone's exchange with the media. His remarks about the new Jaguars receiver start at the 4:01 mark.
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How can Dyami Brown help the Jaguars?
The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't give Dyami Brown a $10 million deal with a max value of $12 million to keep him on the bench. They'll want him to make plays, even if it comes at the expense of Gabe Davis.
The Jags signed Gabe Davis to a three-year deal worth $49 million last offseason because of his ability to create big plays. While his underwhelming catch rate was a reason for concern, the expectation is that catching passes from Trevor Lawrence could help. Unfortunately, the former UCF Knight was underwhelming. He'll have a chance to bounce back but will need to fend Brown off.
But aside from pushing Davis, Brown will draw coverage away from sophomore Brian Thomas Jr., who often had to face double teams in 2024 because the Jags didn't have any other playmakers.
Of course, there's a chance Brown could regress next season, but the Jaguars are betting that he'll continue his impressive rise. And if he doesn't, they can simply move on from him last year, but it was most definitely worth a shot.