The Arizona Cardinals traded a first-round pick for Marquise Brown to help Kyler Murray and their offense. Will Brown produce enough in 2022 to be on your fantasy football roster, and what is his current ADP in fantasy drafts?
Marquise Brown ADP | Is he worth his current price in fantasy drafts?
Brown’s current ADP is 59th overall as the 24th wide receiver selected in fantasy drafts. This means he’s being taken in the fifth round of standard leagues. Other players drafted in his range include Chris Godwin and Brandin Cooks.
PFN’s 2022 fantasy football rankings have Brown ranked as the 74th overall player and 31st wide receiver for PPR leagues. We’re significantly lower than Brown as he faces the second-hardest fantasy schedule for receivers and will have to overcome DeAndre Hopkins’ reintegration into the lineup in Week 7. Arizona also re-signed significant offensive pieces in James Conner and Zach Ertz.
The 25-year-old is coming off the best year of his career as he saw his volume increase significantly. He caught 91 passes for only 1,008 yards and six scores. Drops greatly affected his production, as he let a few potential touchdown receptions hit the ground, ruining what would’ve been a true breakout season.
Baltimore opted to trade Brown in order to land a first-round pick, and Arizona pounced as they lacked cap space to replace Christian Kirk.
Brown’s projected fantasy value in 2022
Brown reunites with Murray after the two briefly played together at Oklahoma. On paper, this is a terrific pairing that should create downfield, explosive plays with ease. Arizona throws the ball a ton and can certainly produce multiple fantasy-relevant pass catchers in this offense.
A key question is how often will Arizona utilize Brown in the red zone?
Conner led the NFL with 15 red-zone touchdowns in 2021, and Hopkins caught eight of his own within the 20. Both Antoine Wesley and A.J. Green had two scores a piece in the red zone. Ertz caught eight passes, with four passing the pylon.
Brown had just two touchdowns on 16 targets within the 20 with Baltimore. He might see a slight boost to those numbers while Hopkins is out, but he’s competing with players more suited to succeed in the condensed space. Brown’s value will come more sporadically than what we’d prefer at his cost.