Marquise Brown Traded to Cardinals: Fantasy Football Outlook (2022)

It was a draft of historic proportion in terms of the numbers of trades made. One of those deals sent wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals. Derek Brown shares his take on Brown reuniting with fellow Sooner Kyler Murray in AZ.

Marquise Brown is shipped across the country for a first-round pick and subsequently reunited with his former college quarterback Kyler Murray. The tandem played at Oklahoma together in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Brown adds a field-stretching element the Cardinals have been sorely lacking, with A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins not fitting the bill with that at this juncture of their careers. Brown has secured only 26.2% of his deep targets over the last two seasons dealing with Lamar Jackson‘s deep ball struggles (per PFF). Jackson has ranked 23rd and 20th in deep-ball completion rate over the last two seasons. Murray led the league in deep completion percentage last year, so Brown should have no problems tracking the downfield heaves.

While Hopkins and even possible Zach Ertz target shares are safe, this move for Arizona could be the coffin nail for Rondale Moore. With Moore’s route running and ability to be anything more than a short area dump-off artist in question, the arrival of Brown doesn’t help. Brown, Hopkins, and Green are likely the team’s starters in three-wide sets, which leaves Moore possibly on the outside looking in unless they push their ten personnel usage to astronomic levels.

The accompanying result of the Brown trade is that Rashod Bateman‘s moon travel ticket has been punched. As an elite-level prospect, the biggest issue Bateman was looking at entering this season was passing volume. This move has cleared that obstacle. Last season Brown soaked up a 26.1% target share which ranked 12th among wide receivers, and a 31.3% air yard share. That volume is in play for Bateman, who could emerge as a weekly WR2/3.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Trade Analyzer – which allows you to instantly find out if a trade offer benefits you or your opponent – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.