Eagles training camp: Who in the world is Billy Brown?

The next time you say “making the most of an opportunity”, think about Billy Brown.

We can say one thing about the Philadelphia Eagles‘ depth chart with certainty. We know how the quarterbacks stack up, so when Carson Wentz and Nick Foles both go an entire practice without doing anything, you have to find other things to focus on. That’s where undrafted free agent tight end Billy Brown comes in.

Truthfully, finding any info on this guy takes a little bit of work. Playing for Shepherd University will do that for you, but over the last three days, Brown has taken advantage of his opportunities. He and fellow rookie Donnel Pumphrey have hauled in their fair share of pass attempts, and following a nice touchdown catch today, don’t be surprised if his name begins to come up a little more often.

He may not have a very cool “football name”, but he’s more than made up for it with what everyone’s seeing on the field.

Here are some of the strengths NFL.com mentioned in their draft profile of Mr. Brown:

"Great big receiver. Uses wide frame to create separation at top of his routes against bump-and-run coverage. Posts up cornerbacks like a basketball player. Can adjust speed of his route to accommodate the quarterback’s timing. Sure-handed and can make the contested catch. Can drag cornerbacks for a long ride after the catch. Dominated his level of competition."

Every coin has two sides. Here are some of the weaknesses:

"Too tall into his routes. Press cornerbacks can get under his pads and force him off-balance inside his route. Doesn’t sink into his breaks. Routes are rounded and need work. Doesn’t have NFL vertical speed to get over the top of defenders. Has to create separation through physicality rather than quickness. Will be forced into consistent contested catch mode."

To sum things up:

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During his time at Shepherd, Brown received honorable mention all-conference honors as a freshman, and he followed that up by being named second-team All-Mountain East Conference.

In 2015, he pulled in 89 catches for 1,492 yards and 10 touchdowns, and that was followed by his final season at the collegiate level where he started all 14 games, pulled in 99 receptions and finished with 1,580 yards and 22 touchdowns.

That was good enough to place him second on the NCAA Division II list at the tight end position.

How will all of that transfer to the NFL? So far, it’s been a pretty good run, but things won’t get any easier as the entire team returns to practice on Thursday. Now, Brown will have to compete with Zach Ertz, Brent Celek and Trey Burton for snaps. Still, you can’t ask for much more than what we’ve been seeing from the rookie.

Everyone’s all smiles from Philly.

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