Jason Brownlee, WR Southern Miss: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Brownlee was a recruit from West Point High School in West Point, Miss. in the class of 2018

Southern Miss wide receiver Jason Brownlee is another small school product on pace to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. The All-Sun Belt receiver recently accepted an invite to the NFL Combine. Here’s a look at his scouting profile.

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Jason Brownlee, WR Southern Miss: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior outside receiver from West Point, Miss.

Background: Brownlee was a recruit from West Point High School in West Point, Miss. in the class of 2018. He didn’t receive a national ranking or star rating from 247 Sports upon graduation and chose to attend East Mississippi Community College. After two JUCO seasons, Brownlee emerged as a three-star JUCO recruit. He was the No. 180 JUCO product according to 247Sports and No. 192 for On3.com. Brownlee was an unranked two-star JUCO product for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 72 grade out of 100. He committed to Southern Miss over offers from Charlotte, Liberty, South Alabama, and Western Kentucky. In high school, Brownlee led West Point High School to back-to-back Class 5A State Championships. As a senior, he earned Mississippi/Alabama All-Star, MAC Class 5A First-Team All-State, Clarion-Ledger First-Team, Daily Journal Large School All-Area Team, and WCBI All-EndZone First-Team honors. Brownlee played offense and defense in high school. As a senior, he caught 42 passes for 967 yards and 11 touchdowns. On defense as a senior, he amassed 17 tackles, four interceptions, and a touchdown. In his second season at East Mississippi Community College, Brownlee earned NJCAA All-America First-Team honors and led the nation with 75 receptions. He finished second among all JUCO players with 1,055 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. Brownlee caught 14 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown as a freshman on East Mississippi Community College’s undefeated NJCAA championship team.

2022 Production: 13 games, 55 receptions, 891yards, 8 touchdowns

2021 Production: 12 games, 46 receptions, 643 yards, 8 touchdowns

2020 Production: 10 games, 34 receptions, 610 yards, 5 touchdowns

Injuries & Off-Field: Battled through injuries early in 2021

Awards: 2020 Honorable Mention All-CUSA, 2021 Second-Team All-CUSA, 2022 Third-Team All-Sun Belt

Pros: Long strider, appears to have impressive vertical leap, experience playing out wide and in the slot, varies route speed, uses varied speeds and hesitation moves as part of his release package, bouncy feet help him jump inside or outside on releases, decelerates quickly at the top of his route, excellent arm length extends his catch radius, good concentration at the catch point, makes good adjustments to the ball when it’s mid-air, bailed out his QB several times, ball tracking, extends to make amazing catches outside of his frame, effective at selling double moves, enough speed to stack CUSA and Sun Belt corners vertically, able to generate some vertical separation vs. Tyrique Stevenson (2022)

Cons: Age, competition level, minimal college special teams snaps, not a burner, gets caught from behind, not twitchy or sudden, not an elite separator, not a significant YAC threat, doesn’t break many tackles, not shifty or elusive in open space, route definition is inconsistent, Tyrique Stevenson (2022) won more of the battles when the two faced off, needs to use his hands more to defeat press, limited instances of being challenged by NFL-caliber physicality at the line of scrimmage, still developing a feel for holes in zone, doesn’t truly physically dominate in at the catch point, effort as a blocker could improve

Overview: Brownlee took official measurements at the NFLPA Bowl. He’s 6021 and weighs 202 lbs. He has 9 3/4-inch hands, 33 7/8-inch arms, and an 80 3/4-inch wingspan. Brownlee is a long strider who appears to have an impressive vertical leap. He has some experience lining up in the slot but primarily deploys out wide. The JUCO product varies his route speed, especially early in his release. Brownlee is an accomplished salesman who uses varied speed and hesitation moves to set up double moves and clean releases. He has bouncy feet to help him jump inside or outside on releases. The senior decelerates quickly at the top of his routes to generate separation. He has excellent arm length, which extends his catch radius. Brownlee’s calling cards are his exceptional concentration at the catch point, ball tracking, and adjustments to the ball when it’s mid-air. He frequently bailed his quarterbacks out at Southern Miss. Brownlee makes high difficulty catches outside of his frame. He’s not a true vertical threat, but he showcases enough speed to stack Conference USA and Sun Belt corners vertically. He even generated some vertical separation against Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson this past season. Brownlee is an older prospect who hasn’t consistently faced elite competition. He has minimal special teams experience at Southern Miss and isn’t a sudden or twitchy athlete. The Mississippi native is not an elite separator or a significant threat to generate yards after the catch. He doesn’t break many tackles and isn’t shifty or elusive in open space. Brownlee’s route definition is inconsistent. While he had some nice plays against Miami, Stevenson won most of the battles when the two prospects clashed. Brownlee needs to use his hands more to defeat press coverage. He has an excellent track record at the catch point but doesn’t physically dominate in those situations. His effort as a blocker could improve.

Overall, Brownlee offers limited upside after the catch, but he showcases tremendous ball skills and is continuing to build his resume as a route runner. Brownlee will add value to an NFL team as a back-of-the-roster receiver with a reputation for generating splash plays every now and then.

Role & Scheme Fit: X or Z receiver in an 11 personnel heavy scheme

Round Projection: Early Sixth to Late Sixth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 02-25-23