The 2021 NFL Draft is already over for the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, they have to go through the perfunctory steps of adding a Linebacker, Edge Rusher or Wideout, or whatever other position they see fit to draft, but none of those players will have the impact that Orlando Brown will have on the team. For all intents and purposes, they’ve already won this draft, big time. That’s because the Baltimore Ravens sent the Chiefs the best young Left Tackle in the game, when the Kansas City Chiefs, had a huge hole at that exact same position, LT.
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First, let’s take a look at who Orlando Brown Jr. really is. “Zeus” is his nickname and he lives up to that moniker like no other. If you’re thinking, the Chiefs already have a Zeus in Travis Kelce, you’d be right, but now we have a Duce Zeus situation in K.C. and it’s alllll gud.
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Nerd Note: It’s a bit magicalamitous palindromey voodooish, but Kelce’s number is 87 while Brown’s number is the reverse –> 78. OoooOooo… no that’s Dr. Zeus spooky.
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Brown is the son of Orlando Brown Sr., who was a UDFA with Cleveland in 1993 and then made the move to Baltimore in 1996 when the Browns moved the franchise there. It’s interesting to note that Junior, has also made a move from one city to another, after three years in the league… and he wasn’t a first round pick, either… like father, like son. Junior had a horrible combine in 2018, and dropped to the third round.
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Take a look at the traded value the Chiefs got, and gave up, for Orlando Brown.
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The number values you see here are from the Draft Value Trade Chart provided by DrafTek. At the heart of this trade is what Kansas City gave up in the first round to get Brown. By giving up their first round pick, while getting back a second round pick, the Chiefs came away the huge victors in this deal. If you consider the other draft capital the Chiefs gave up to get Brown, it seems somewhat inconsequential, from a draft capital standpoint. Losing the 3rd and 4th round picks this year hurts, a little, but receiving the Ravens 2nd rounder makes up for those losses, in a big way. Remember, Brett Veach called the late 2nd to early third round of the draft, “The sweet spot.” How sweet it is!
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Some may argue, “But Orlando Brown was drafted in the 3rd round,” and those people would be right. Except, there have been 367 players drafted in the 3rd round over the past ten years, and Brown is one of only 34 players in R3 who have made the Pro Bowl. You might look at those odds and say, well, he’s part of the ten percent. Actually, it’s a whole lot more rare when you consider that only one other OT, who was drafted in the 3rd round (in the past ten years) has become a Pro Bowl player: Terron Armstead. Orlando Brown is the other. He’s rare.
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Not everyone would agree with my assessment that the Chiefs won this trade. Who? Well, like PFF:
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Blunder? I guess beauty is in the eye… and if you’re a Chiefs fan, K.C. won this trade and I’d say they won it by a mountainous amount. If you can get past the shock and awe of the idea that the Ravens would even consider trading away one of the best young LTs in the league to their primary AFC competitor — and the Ravens haven’t beaten the Chiefs since 2012 — you can then begin to explore just how good the Chiefs have become by making this move. Orlando Brown Jr. is an extraordinary player. Now he’ll be tasked with the responsibility of protecting the blindside of the QB seen by many as the best player, at the most important position, for the best game in the world:
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Listen to Brian Baldinger explain Brown’s technique against some of the best edge rushers in the NFL, while Brown was playing on the right side:
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Seth Keysor thinks Eric Fisher was more athletic in space than Orlando Brown and offers the following to make his point:
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The Chiefs in the North Newsletter
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Keysor says, in his piece called, “Orlando Brown film review: Looking at the Chiefs’ new left tackle,” that,
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“That lack of elite athleticism in space is going to be a big change for the Chiefs at left tackle, as Fisher going down the field was often better suited for movement than even the interior offensive linemen.”
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While Keysor does excellent work and provides many informed offerings, I think Orlando Brown will prove to be a far superior LT to Eric Fisher in both space, as well as in pass protection. In the above gif, the LB that Brown was supposed to block at the goal line is 3-time All Pro Darius Leonard, who makes a great play to avoid Brown early in the play, then after he sees him coming, he’s doing his best Derrick Johnson impression darting back underneath Brown’s block, to make the tackle before Lamar Jackson can dive into the end zone. Not all plays are what they at first appear to be, when upon a second look, something else altogether is happening. Keysor also said many positives about Brown in his article:
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“Brown has a powerful upper body and he utilizes it to his advantage constantly when facing pass rushers. He often uses very aggressive pass rush sets in order to get a jump on opposing players, and they’re not able to get close enough to Brown to try and utilize any moves.“
“Brown’s length and upper body strength makes pure power rushes almost impossible for opponents, even those who are accustomed to winning with bull rushes and long arms. He’s also able to set a pretty strong base in those situations and is difficult to move.“
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As Brian Baldinger said in his above video, Orlando Brown is a “Great athlete.” I agree with Baldinger’s assessment and trust his point of view more as Baldy once played the game and knows of what he speaks, first hand. I know the quality is low but the following screen capture is from the Brian Baldinger video above and it’s at the very moment he’s yelling, “Look at that wall,” pinpointing the wonderful protection the Ravens OL has provided Lamar Jackson. What I want you to look at here, is where the LT is compared to where the RT (Orlando Brown) is.
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What I’m looking at here is the depth each Tackle allows his defender to penetrate. Sure, that may depend on the track a rusher is taking and it does look like Brown’s defender is trying to bull rush him here — big mistake — but that’s something that the best edge rushers in the NFL have had trouble doing vs Orlando Brown, getting a push on him using a bull rush. It also looks like the defender is attempting to bull rush LT Ronnie Stanley so this comparison holds water.
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Below, I’ve put 8 plays together by Orlando Brown blocking out in space. While this is admittedly not the strongest part of his game, it doesn’t mean it’s a weakness, and you’ll notice that on every play, except the last one, he takes a defender out. Completely. Sometimes he just falls on them. Can you imagine seeing a 6-foot-8, 345 lbs. super-sized human running at you with criminal intent on his face? The Ravens were the best rushing team in the NFL last year… by nearly 400 yards! Plus, they were the only team to rush for over 3,000 yards as a unit. Translation? Brown will improve the Chiefs running game and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will likely end up loving Brown more than Mahomes will. Remember how well CEH ran behind Kelechi Osemele before he was hurt? We can expect more of the same… for years to come.
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Will an improved rushing attack help the Chiefs passing attack? Yep, by oodles. You may notice that the Ravens running backs follow Brown when he gets out in space and it helps them create huge chunk plays from their rushing attack. What I have not shown you here are examples of Brown pass protection prowess. That’s a given (but something Brian Baldinger focused on). Brown stated in his recent presser that he intends on getting better and that he has space to improve.
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Gotta love that attitude. If he does that, we may have to give him props like we’ve given to Willie Roaf for nearly 20 years now. Brown has Roaf upside and it looks like he’s well on his way.
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While a part of me is still in the “I can’t believe this is happening” state of mind in regards to the trade ever coming to fruition, it’s clear to me that the Ravens just helped the Chiefs get better. A lot better. No, dramatically better. I also believe Brett Veach is determined to fix the depth of the Chiefs offensive line so I won’t be at all surprised to see him draft a LT this weekend. The Super Bowl debacle came about because front line offensive linemen were hurt, something beyond anyone’s power to control. The answer is to have an OL that is as deep, as it is strong with starters.
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The Chiefs like to bring in quality young men to be the heart and soul of the team, and they’ve done a terrific job in that department. More importantly, Orlando Brown fits that same mold. Take a listen to his introductory interview with the K.C. media and you’ll probably fall in love with this guy like I have.
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From his first moment in K.C., he’s said and done all the right things.
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When I listen to him, he just makes me smile!
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I’ve been writing about the Chiefs for over ten years, and have often said I’d like to see them develop a juggernaut OL. With Orlando Brown and Joe Thuney manning the left side, the Chiefs are almost half the way there.
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There’s no doubt in my mind, Orlando Brown will help the Chiefs win Super Bowls. Yep, that’s a “S” on the end of that word!
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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