Profiling Colts Running Back/Kick Returner Andre Brown

Andre Brown

Born:  December 15, 1986

Hometown:  Greenville, NC

College:  North Carolina State University

Draft:  4th round, 129th overall – 2009 (New York Giants)

Height: 6 feet 0 inches

Weight:  224 lbs.

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College

Professional

Pre-Draft Measurables

40-yard Dash: 4.49 seconds

3 Cone Drill: 7.35 seconds

20-yard Shuttle: 4.33 seconds

Bench Press:  24.0 reps

Vertical Jump: 37.0 inches

Broad Jump: 115.0 inches

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Breakdown

Andre Brown is a one-year starter and three-year backup out of North Carolina State University, who joined the Colts after being claimed off of waivers from the Denver Broncos.  Brown was originally drafted by the New York Giants.  Prior to the NFL draft, numerous scouting reports listed Brown’s biggest strength as his ball control.  He had no fumbles in college.  His pass blocking skills were his next most praised quality.  He is very strong at 224 lbs, and has good vision of the field allowing him to effectively pick up blitzes.  As a runner, Brown plays with a very strong style, and has the ability to drag guys along with him for extra yards.  While not the source photo, this is a picture of Andre Brown running against the University of Miami.

On the down side, Brown doesn’t really have great speed, and tends to only have one trick up his sleeve.  His ability to run straight down the middle is a huge strength, as he pounds his way between defenders and picks up quite a few yards after initial contact, but he isn’t really fast enough to get great separation in space.  He can catch out of the backfield, but has some consistency issues, usually resulting from when turning his attention up-field too soon.  He also has serious injury concerns as he missed significant time in 2006 and 2007 after undergoing two separate surgeries to repair a broken foot, then again in 2009 when he was placed on IR with and Achilles injury.  While having the patience to wait for holes to form properly along the line, he can get caught prancing behind the line more often than he should as his patience turns to indecisiveness.

In terms of potential, Brown could be a hard-nosed RB who can punch the ball in on short yardage, and when finesse running isn’t doing much good.  He also has the ball control to be very useful as a returner and won’t fumble twice in one game, let alone twice in a year.  His pass-blocking skills will also be a welcome talent as Donald Brown continues to try and mature as a pass blocker, while Addai recovers from injury.  In the short-term, with Addai out and Donald Brown still recovering from injury, it is likely we’ll see some of Andre Brown as a RB, even if it is just as a 3rd down back, or possibly participating as a member of a 3-back rotation while Addai is injured.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9w5sKCFZrd0