Noah Brown CAN be a unique weapon for new Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, but WILL he be?

The Cowboys are pretty stacked at wide receiver this year. Amari Cooper was outstanding after he arrived via a trade in the middle of last season. Michael Gallup has a ton of potential heading into his second season. He was open deep quite a bit last season, but the quarterback overthrew him on a lot of them. If he and Dak Prescott have a little better chemistry this year, look out!

If offseason acquisition Randall Cobb gets healthy, he is going to be one helluva slot receiver as well. Those guys, provided they avoid the injury bug, are all likely to play a lot this season. There is one backup, however, whose potential role greatly intrigues me now that Dallas has a brand new offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore.

That guy is Noah Brown.

If you are unfamiliar, Brown is 6’2 and 222 pounds and ostensibly listed as a wide receiver, although he does a few things that most receivers don’t do. Right now, Brown is still young and a little raw with some of his route running, but he’s physically gifted and skilled. That jumped right off the screen when I watched his film. He doesn’t necessarily have take-the-top-off-a-defense speed, but he knows how to get open on short-to-intermediate routes, and with his size he can also be a back-shoulder fade guy on deeper throws down the field.

But, if all Brown could do was line up wide and run routes, he probably wouldn’t see much time on the field for any NFL team.

Because of his size, Brown is able to be a lead blocker in an H-back-type role from time to time. He can also line up as a wing outside of the tight end and help to block the end man on the line of scrimmage.

He isn’t quite big enough to play as a stud tight end and block bigger defensive ends, but I promise you he couldn’t do any worse than some of the “true” tight ends I see every year. In fact, I could see Brown lining up as one on the backside of some two-tight end sets and blocking just well enough that when the Cowboys actually throw it out of that personnel, they catch the defense off guard.

While he spent most of his time lined up like a wide receiver, the Cowboys did use him somewhat like a tight end several times last season, running him either into the playside flat, or on a backside over route on bootleg pass plays. All they would have to do is expand on that a little.

I should probably mention that Brown has really good hands, too, and he has a pretty nice catch radius. The pass doesn’t have to be right on him for Brown to be able to haul it in, is what I’m saying.

Have Brown line up at fullback and sneak out into routes that way, for instance. Or use him on some quick screens where he gets to run in space with only a defensive back between him and a ton of green grass.

I believe Brown could be a great option in the red zone, as well. The Cowboys could move him around down there and the defense would never really know if he was in there to try to lead block for Ezekiel Elliott (provided his holdout ends) or to sneak through the line and go out on a route. There ain’t man linebackers who would be able to cover Brown down there, that’s for sure.

Now, I don’t know how innovative Moore is going to be this season. I also don’t know how he will work out as an offensive coordinator overall, seeing as this is his first time being one, on any level, and that he is just two years removed from being an active player.

Hell, it may not even really be Moore’s offense at the end of the day. I know if I were Jason Garrett and my job was seemingly on the line, I’d probably be a little hesitant to turn the offense over to Moore completely, that’s for sure.

But, for now at least, I’m gonna imagine Moore just goes buckwild this season. If he does, I think Brown can play a vital role in the offense pretty much every week of this season as a matchup problem. No, he likely won’t start unless someone else gets hurt, but he can still help contribute off the bench, big time.

What that means is his value goes further than just the handful of snaps he might play on offense every game. That can be a huge factor in deciding not only who makes the team, but also who is active on gamedays. That, and the fact that Brown is versatile enough to potentially play fullback or even tight end in an emergency situation, makes him almost a lock to be active every week.

Thus, it would make sense to incorporate him into the offense every week as well.

The thing that makes me nervous at this point is that Brown had to start training camp on the PUP list because of an offseason knee surgery, and two weeks into the preseason he still hasn’t come off it. I have to wonder what kind of shape he will be in whenever he is healthy enough to start practicing.

The NFL is the epitome of a “what have you done for me lately” business, and if Brown can’t get on the field to showcase his talent, it isn’t guaranteed that the Cowboys will wait for him to get healthy.

I still feel good about Brown’s opportunity. After all, Brown only made five catches in the regular season, and two in the postseason, last year. If he gets 20 catches in the regular season this year, he will have quadrupled his output, which I think is safe to assume qualifies as a breakout year.

As just a football fan in general, however, I really do hope we get to see him play at full strength this year and that the Cowboys find more ways to scheme up opportunities for him. He has the potential to be a weapon if he is used properly.

Confidence level: Moderate