Fantasy Upside
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown improved last year from his rookie season, even if it wasn’t at the clip expected by fantasy owners who took him to be their WR2 or WR3. He caught 58 balls for 769 yards and eight touchdowns, and he only had two truly awful games. He also finished strong with six touchdowns in his final eight games. The Ravens have said they want to throw the ball more, and all the pass-catchers should benefit if that’s true.
Fantasy Downside
The biggest problem with Brown has been consistent production, but the concern for his fantasy upside heading into this season is his target share. The Ravens already have been last in the league in pass attempts since Lamar Jackson took over, and now they added Sammy Watkins and first-round rookie Rashod Bateman out of Minnesota. It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that Brown could still lead the team in targets, but Bateman definitely looks like a potential alpha receiver, which could spell trouble for the already enigmatic Brown.
2021 Bottom Line
Brown is available in the ninth round in 12-team leagues, making him a pretty decent value pick considering his upside. There’s also an argument to be made that his style of playmaking could benefit from reduced defensive attention and that his efficiency could increase, mitigating the ill effects of reduced targets. Still, I like him better in best ball formats where you don’t have to guess which week he’s going to score. In most league formats, wait five rounds and get the discounted Bateman, who could also lead the team in targets.