For Dallas Cowboys receiver Camden Brown, arriving in the NFL came as something of a reverse play. While players who start out in the Sun Belt usually gain the attention of SEC teams and are poached through the transfer portal, Brown did it backwards. He was mostly unproductive in three seasons at Auburn and rather than wait it out with the Tigers, he decided to chase more opportunity at Georgia Southern.
He put up big numbers, going for 1,079 yards and 14 touchdowns, second in FBS. Those were also both school records for Georgia Southern. He was passed over in the NFL draft, but has landed with the Cowboys and has made an impression throughout training camp. More than that, he made a splash in the preseason win over the Seahawks, catching both touchdowns and going for 62 yards on three catches, including an impressive one-handed grab of a Joe Milton ball.
As Brown said after the game, “I feel like I get to prove people wrong again. That’s just who I am. That’s been my whole life story.”
Camden Brown Has a Tough Road to a Cowboys Spot
Brown has looked so good in training camp, in fact, that there is reason to wonder whether the Cowboys have seen enough, whether they’re ready to hand him a roster spot and keep him out of the remaining two preseason games. Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, in fact, was asked if the Cowboys would “bubble wrap” Brown for the next two weeks.
That would be tough to do because, after all, there is still plenty of competition in the Cowboys’ crowded wide receiver room. Not only are CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at the top as a 1-2 punch, but Ryan Flournoy is one of the best WR3s in the league. Kavontae Turpin is well-established as a return man and a gadget-play receiver.
And Jonathan Mingo, the receiver the Cowboys dumped a fourth-round pick to get, is still in the competition, too.
Cowboys Need Young Players to ‘Do it Every Week’
Speaking from Cowboys practice, Adams said that Brown still has a ways to go before he gets the bubble-wrap treatment.
“Those are all kind of discussions for a personnel-type meeting, but my thought process with young guys that are battling to make the team is that we have to give them opportunities to show consistency and show that you can do it on a week-in and week-out basis,” Adams said.
“So, that, I don’t feel any different with Cam than I do with any of the other guys. This week, it might be somebody else that shows up and makes a couple of plays. You know, this is a pretty competitive roster and, specifically, a pretty competitive receiver room. You’re gonna have to be able to do it every week to make this team.”
Camden Browns Connecting with QBs
But Brown has shown a good instinct for running his routes and tipping Cowboys quarterbacks to his next move. That’s one reason he was able to have such a stellar preseason showing.
“The quarterback room in general likes to know body language, receivers that can kind of communicate with their backs turned,” Adams said. “Those are things that they are very comfortable with Cam on, there is a certain level of consistency to his route-running, there is a certain level of consistency with his release when he gets pressed, there are certain things he does with his body at the top of the route that you can anticipate where he is going to be and when he is going to be there.
“Cam has done a nice job with those things.”
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