Pump The Brakes On Orlando Brown, He's Fine
There's been a lot of Orlando Brown concerns stemming from training camp. Let's discuss
Training camp is a roller coaster.
Football fans are starved for content. Between May and August, there’s nothing. No offseason moves, storylines, or much access to our favorite players. Imagine not seeing someone you love for three months in a row. Once you get it back, you’re so excited that you make irrational decisions/thoughts immediately.
That’s training camp for fans. We finally get to see these players in live-action for the first time in 7 months and see the new players on the roster. It’s been such a long time without them that we crave all the football content we get.
Sometimes that’s positive. When a new player breaks out or shows positive signs, we get really excited for their future. Or if a player comes back from injury and looks good, we’re happy they recovered. Even if it’s a limited sample, it’s exciting.
But unfortunately, there’s a negative with training camp. When a guy doesn’t perform at his best and struggles, the negative press comes in.
“This guy is overrated.” “Did we really sign/trade for this guy.” It happens every single offseason, at every single training camp.
This offseason’s version of that talk is Orlando Brown Jr. In the clips we’ve seen online, and at St. Joe, Brown’s had some struggles. His one-on-one reps haven’t particularly been great, and he’s given up a lot of pressure in team drills. So, should we be worried?
No. Why? Here are four reasons why I wouldn’t worry about Orlando Brown.
#1: It’s practice
One thing we have to remember about training camp; it’s not a real game. It’s practice. When you’re practicing, you’re likely not to do as well. That goes for every job ever.
Ever given a presentation? How was your first time running it through without a script? Probably not good, right? But the more you practiced, the better you were at giving your presentation.
Football is the same way. No matter how much you train in the offseason when you get the pads on at training camp for the first time, you’re not going to perform your best instantly. It takes some time. The key for Orlando is that he’s getting better every day before the season, so he’s ready to go by then. But for now, these reps aren’t anywhere as meaningful, so that I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
#2: OL-DL Battles Aren’t Meant For OL
This part speaks more to an individual drill, which is the OL-DL one-on-ones. This is by far my favorite drill in training camp, mainly because OL and DL are my favorite positions to watch. So watching these guys tee off and compete against each other is a treat to watch. And luckily, we’ve had a bunch of great clips come from people on-site at St. Joe.
But the problem with these drills are that they aren’t meant for OL. People don’t realize about OL play that a lot of it comes down to play call. For example, let’s say the concept is a quick-passing concept, something with a three-step drop to release the ball quickly. The tackle will take some aggressive pass set, likely a jump set, to keep the inside shoulder clean. If the QB holds the ball forever and the pass rusher gets up the arc to sack him, that’s on the QB. But the tackle receives the blame. Playcall and tempo typically affect the ways offensive linemen play.
With OL-DL battles, OL don’t have that advantage. They’re just asked to stay on an island, not having any idea what’s coming at them, and hold up. That isn’t easy. It’s like studying for a test with no idea what it’s going to be about. So, OL typically looks worse because they have to cover more ground and have no idea what’s coming.
So, these OL-DL battles aren’t everything. Typically, I like to see how OL are moving and if they look athletic. Brown isn’t the most athletic tackle ever, so it hasn’t looked great, but his game isn’t built like that. When the pads come on at team periods, and he knows his job on a play, he’s looked better. So, be careful with these one-on-one reps because they aren’t everything.
#3: It’s a Brand New System
For me, I don’t always love the argument of “new system” affecting your play because I think that can be a cop-out excuse for more extensive issues, but that sentiment is genuine with Orlando Brown. In fact, he’s coming from basically the polar opposite of an offensive scheme in Baltimore.
In Baltimore, Orlando wasn’t asked to anywhere the same things he will need to do in Kansas City. Besides the fact that Baltimore is a running team, they don’t run a lot of traditional passing stuff. A lot of it comes out of play-action or quick passing game. This makes Orlando’s job as a left tackle easier. He gets more help from the scheme and isn’t left on an island all the time vs. the best pass rushers in the league.
In Kansas City, he will. Orlando will have to use more vertical pass sets and mirror pass rushers up the arc. In Baltimore, that wasn’t the same concern. Even at Oklahoma, Orlando wasn’t asked to do that as much. That’s not to say he’s incapable of it, but it will take time to adjust to that and learn how to play on an island. He’s never done that in his NFL career, so give him time to adjust his playstyle and body to perform in this scheme well. It’ll look rough at first, but as long as he’s getting better, I’m not worried.
#4: Orlando Brown Isn’t Orlando Pace
Okay, stick with me on this.
Part of the issue with the Orlando Brown discussion is our expectations set on him. When you see the Chiefs trade for a multi-time-Pro Bowl offensive tackle, it’s fair to assume he’s one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. And for the most part, he belongs in a high-tier on the list of offensive tackles.
But Orlando isn’t one of the best tackles in the league, at least for me. He’s not in the class of David Bakhtiari, Trent Williams, or Terron Armstead’s. Orlando is much closer to the Eric Fisher or Garrett Bolles class of offensive tackles. He’s a dependable, good left tackle, but he’s not in the top-tier. And the thing is, most guys who aren’t in that tier will have bad practices or reps all the time. Eric Fisher used to get wrecked every practice vs. the elite players in the NFL. Most do unless you are those top guys.
So it comes down to managing your expectations for Brown. If you think he’s a top 5 left tackle in the NFL, you’re probably going to be disappointed. But if you think he’s closer to the 10-12 range, he’s been exactly what you should have expected. And for what it’s worth, having a top 10-12 left tackle is excellent! Yeah, it may have been a bit of an overpay with the trade, but the other option was starting a rookie or Mike Remmers out there at left tackle. So it’s okay, and Kansas City got a really good tackle without giving up a ton of compensation, and who’s young and will age very well. That’s a perfectly okay trade.
Conclusion: Should You Be Worried?
I think it depends on your expectations of Brown.
Depending on where you tier Brown would decide how worried you should be. If you think Brown will be a Top 3-5 LT in the NFL, I’d be slightly concerned. He hasn’t looked completely comfortable pass-setting yet. He’s given up a lot of pressure up the arc, including guys without great burst like Mike Danna. His reps in pass protection, while better in team periods, just haven’t been there yet.
But, if you view him closer to the 10-12 range, he’s been perfectly okay. Orlando Brown isn’t a flawless player. But nothing about the way he’s moved has me anymore concerned than I already knew about him, and you see that overwhelming size and reach. He has looked much better in team periods. I haven’t been able to get down to St. Joe and watch Brown up close, but it does seem like he’s getting progressively better, which is great!
I wouldn’t fret too much about Brown now. He’s probably going to struggle to start the season because this is entirely new for him. Being put on an island with the best QB in the league is a challenging task. But I have faith in Brown still. His football character and size give me confidence he’ll figure it out. He may not reach that All-Pro tier as we want, but I still like the trade for Kansas City if he’s even as good as Eric Fisher. Having competent tackle play is a big deal in this league and expensive. Getting a 25-year old tackle who’s good isn’t easy, and Kansas City has one that will be with the Chiefs for the next 8-10 years. That’s a great deal. Just temper your expectations with Brown; he’ll be just fine.