Washington Football Team: Dyami Brown, it’s time to Put up your Dukes
Rookie Dyami Brown has yet to make an impact on the Washington Football Team. The North Carolina product has struggled to produce any positive statistics whatsoever. He played on 93 percent (51 plays) of Washington’s snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers. The result, four targets and one catch for -2 yards. However, Brown did improve in Week 2.
Against the New York Giants, Brown played 87 percent of snaps. (62 plays) On six targets, he logged three catches for 34 yards. One of which was a 22-yard gain on an acrobatic leap that helped jumpstart Washington’s 13-play, 90-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter.
Last week’s performance versus the Buffalo Bills was much like Week 1. Dyami Brown played on 65 percent of Washington’s snaps. (35 plays) He was yet again a non-factor, as he had zero catches. He also had a dropped pass. The lone touch he did have resulted in a four-yard loss.
Ron Rivera on Dyami Brown..."Dyami is growing and learning. He's a rookie that has some things he has to improve on. We would like to see him get a little more active."
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) September 29, 2021
Before the start of the season, Ron Rivera spoke highly of the improved depth at wide receiver. So far, that depth has not made life easier for Terry McLaurin and Taylor Heinicke. Adam Humphries had a solid game versus New York (7 catches for 44 yards), but has been nonexistent in Weeks 1 and 3. Against the Bills and Chargers, Humphries recorded a combined three catches for 17 yards. That won’t cut it.
Cam Sims has yet to garner more playing time this season. In the season opener, Sims played on only four percent of Washington’s snaps. That number jumped to 11 percent in Week 2 and 37 percent in last week’s loss versus the Bills, but that hasn’t translated into much production. On the season, Sims has just two catches for 32 yards.
After seeing the current struggles of Washington’s other receivers not named Terry McLaurin, Washington’s offense could use Curtis Samuel in the worst way. After initial speculation regarding whether Samuel would play Sunday — Washington had 21 days to activate him off injured reserve — Rivera surprised fans on Friday by confirming that Samuel will be active for the game.
Can rookie Dyami Brown make an impact against the Atlanta Falcons?
Can the fans and coaching staff count on any other wide receiver not named Terry McLaurin to make plays for Washington’s offense? Expectations were maybe too high heading into his rookie season. The Washington Football Team landed a steal when they drafted McLaurin in the third round of the 2019 draft.
The expectation was that Dyami Brown would be able to replicate McLaurin’s initial success. However, that has not been the case, as Brown has yet to look like the guy that averaged 20 yards per catch in his sophomore and junior seasons at Chapel Hill. Within the first three games of the season, Washington has given Brown the chance to play. Through the first three games of his NFL career, however, Brown has posted a total of four catches for 32 yards.
Although Brown has struggled early on, Washington shouldn’t give up on him just yet. Atlanta doesn’t possess an intimidating secondary, so he should be able to at least replicate his success from Week 2.
The coaching staff wanted to see what the rookie could do in place of Curtis Samuel. With Samuel looking set to return on Sunday, maybe things will open up for Brown. Let’s hope so, because the talented third-rounder has clearly been enduring some early growing pains as he adjusts to life in the National Football League.
