Top 10 Arizona Cardinals draft picks from last decade
Number 8 in the top 10 Arizona Cardinals draft picks from the last decade: John Brown, WR, Pittsburg State (KS)
John Brown was an incredible find in the 3rd round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The team had been looking to find a true #3 receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd and Brown fit the bill perfectly. Brown had gone through a lot on his journey to the NFL:
- His high school coach told him he was too small and would never play in college/NFL
- Won the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) player of the year award while starring for Mars Hill University (the same conference that produced Brandon Bostick and Kyle Dugger) but had to sit out the next season due to grades
- Transferred to multiple schools, ultimately suiting up with his half-brother for a few games before his half-brother was shot multiple times in 2010 and would succumb to those injuries a year later in 2011
Brown exploded onto the scene in 2014, highlighted by his performance against Philadelphia where he hauled in one of the best deep balls I’ve ever seen from Carson Palmer for a 75-yard go-ahead score that was celebrated with one of the best touchdown dances you’ll ever see. In 2015, Brown cracked the 1,000-yard barrier.
SF forgot to cover John Brown in Arizona last year pic.twitter.com/gxoIKtDqRk
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) September 25, 2015
Brown’s performance dropped with him being diagnosed with sickle-cell trait, a condition where one’s red blood cell shape is turned from a circle into a crescent/moon shape, which makes blood flow complicated, per WebMD. Brown has been able to manage it successfully and become a dynamic duo with Cole Beasly and Josh Allen in Buffalo. Brown would later admit to being “checked out” in his final season with the team.
Cardinals fans still can enjoy his highlights and his dancing, even if he is on a different team. We move forward to number 7 on the top 10 Arizona Cardinals draft picks from the last decade.