.jpg) Brown with theWashington Commanders in 2025 | |||||||||
| No. 85 – Washington Commanders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Roster status |  Injured reserve | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1996-01-06)January 6, 1996 (age 29) Flanders, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Pope John XXIII Regional(Sparta, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College | Ohio State (2014–2016) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2017: 7th round, 239th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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Noah Brown (born January 6, 1996) is an American professionalfootballwide receiver for theWashington Commanders of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes, winning anational championship in 2015 before being selected by theDallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the2017 NFL draft. Brown has also played for theHouston Texans. With the Commanders in 2024, he caught a game-winningHail Mary pass as time expired in a play known as theHail Maryland.
A resident of theFlanders section ofMount Olive Township, New Jersey, Brown attendedPope John XXIII Regional High School inSparta, New Jersey.[1] He missed his sophomore season after breaking his ribs in the first game. As a junior, he had 41receptions for 630 yards and sixtouchdowns.
As a senior, he recorded 41 receptions for 857 yards, 14 receiving touchdowns and 7 rushing touchdowns, helping his team reach the Non-Public Group III final and receiving All-New Jersey honors by theNewark Star-Ledger. He committed toOhio State University to playcollege football.[2][3] He finished with over 3,000 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns, after playing atwide receiver,running back andkick returner.
Brown was a highly sought after prospect that received many offers fromVirginia Tech,Notre Dame,Penn State,Michigan State,Pittsburgh, andUSC. He had multiple visits to Columbus in 2013 and opted to shut down his recruiting early and commit to Ohio State five months beforeNational Signing Day.[4]
As atrue freshman in 2014, he played in all 14 games in a backup role, including the2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory overOregon. He had one reception for nine yards and one run for a 4-yard loss, while playing wide receiver,H-back andspecial teams.
The next year, he excelled in spring practice and was expected to earn the starting wide receiver job, until suffering a broken left tibia and fibula late in fall camp during a non-contact drill, forcing him toredshirt for the 2015 season.[5][6] The injury was serious enough to require two separate surgeries.
As a sophomore in 2016, Brown returned and started in all 13 games. He had 32 receptions (second on the team) for 402 yards and 7 touchdowns (tied for the team lead). In the third game against theUniversity of Oklahoma, he tied a school record with 4 receiving touchdowns, while totaling 5 receptions for 72 yards. After the season, he decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the2017 NFL draft.[7][8]
On January 7, 2017, Brown announced viaTwitter that he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.[9] Many analysts were surprised he decided to enter the draft and opt out of his last two years of remaining eligibility, due to his limited experience as a one-year starter and his low draft projection. He was one of 58 collegiate wide receivers to attend theNFL Scouting Combine inIndianapolis, Indiana. Brown chose to only perform thethree-cone drill,short shuttle, andbench press. He tied for second in the bench press behindShepherd'sBilly Brown who had 23 reps, but ended up playingtight end in the NFL.[10]
On March 23, Brown attended Ohio State'spro day along withMarshon Lattimore,Gareon Conley,Raekwon McMillan,Curtis Samuel, and five other prospects. He performed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash as scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams looked on, including head coachesBill Belichick (New England Patriots),Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers),Hue Jackson (Cleveland Browns),Mike Mularkey (Tennessee Titans),Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints),Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions), andMarvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Brown was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick byNFL draft experts and scouts.[11] He was ranked as the 27th best wide receiver prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[12]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+3⁄4 in (1.87 m) | 222 lb (101 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.56 s | 1.61 s | 2.63 s | 4.33 s | 7.07 s | 19 reps | |||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14][15] | ||||||||||||
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Brown was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the seventh round (239th overall) of the2017 NFL draft.[16] He was the 31st wide receiver drafted in 2017, and the second wide receiver selected by the Cowboys afterNorth Carolina'sRyan Switzer.[17] Cowboys' ownerJerry Jones stated that running backEzekiel Elliott was one of the main reasons they drafted Brown, after Elliott continually advocated for his former Ohio State teammate.[18] On May 11, 2017, the Cowboys signed Brown to a four-year, $2.47 million contract that included asigning bonus of $71,938.[19]
Throughouttraining camp, Brown competed for a roster spot as the fifth or sixth wide receiver on the Cowboys' depth chart againstBrice Butler,Lucky Whitehead,Andy Jones, andLance Lenoir.[20] Head coachJason Garrett named Brown the sixth wide receiver on the Cowboys' depth chart, behindDez Bryant,Terrance Williams,Cole Beasley, Butler, and Switzer.[21]
He made his professional regular season debut in the Cowboys' Week 2 loss of 42–17 at theDenver Broncos. The following week, he made his first career reception during the Cowboys' 28–17 victory at theArizona Cardinals. His reception came off a pass by quarterbackDak Prescott and he gained 13 yards before being tackled byTyrann Mathieu.[22][23] On November 19, Brown caught a pass for a season-long 14 yards during a 37–9 loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles.
His contributions came from blocking downfield for the running game and on special teams, where he used his 6–2, 225-pound frame to his advantage. In Week 16, his blocking ability secured his first career start in the Cowboys' 21–12 loss to theSeattle Seahawks, as the offense opened with 3 receivers. He finished his rookie season with four receptions for 33 receiving yards in 13 games with one start.[24] He was declared inactive in 3 contests.
Brown missed most of training camp and preseason with a hamstring injury. On September 3, 2018, he was placed oninjured reserve.[25] On November 9, he was activated off injured reserve.[26] He started in the last 2 games of the season.
He was mostly used for his blocking abilities, appearing in 8 games with 2 starts, while registering 5 receptions for 54 yards and 5 special teams tackles (seventh on the team).
Brown begantraining camp on thephysically unable to perform list, because of an offseason arthroscopic knee surgery. On August 31, he was left on the PUP list, where he spent the rest of the season.[27] In November, he had a second surgery performed to alleviate his lingering knee issue.
Brown slimmed down to be more involved in the passing game, but the team's depth at wide receiver kept him mostly in a blocking and special teams role. In Week 4 against the Browns, he had 4 receptions for 43 yards.
In Week 12 against theWashington Football Team, he made 3 receptions for 40 yards. He appeared in all 16 games with one start, posting 14 receptions for 154 yards and 2 special teams tackles.
On March 17, 2021, Brown re-signed with the Cowboys.[28] He was declared inactive for the season opener against theTampa Bay Buccaneers, after being activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list the previous day. He had 2 receptions for 47 yards against the Patriots. Although he started against theKansas City Chiefs, substitutingAmari Cooper who was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, he wasn't able to record any offensive stats and dropped 2 passes.
He had 6 receptions for 53 yards against theLas Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving Day. On December 9, he was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury.[29] He was activated on January 1, 2022. He appeared in 13 games with one start, making 16 receptions for 184 yards and 3 special teams tackles.
On March 8, 2022, Brown re-signed with the Cowboys.[30] He came into training camp leaner and quicker, to take advantage of the additional snaps available at thewide receiver position; Cooper was traded,Cedrick Wilson Jr. left infree agency andMichael Gallup was still in the process of recovering from an offseason ACL surgery.
He made 5 receptions for 68 yards in the season opener against the Buccaneers. In the second game against the Bengals, he collected 5 receptions for 91 yards, his first career touchdown and made a 12-yard reception on the final drive that helped set up the game-winning 50-yard field goal. He didn't play against theChicago Bears because of a foot injury. He had 4 receptions for 85 yards against theHouston Texans.
His production as a receiver slowed as the season went on, contributing to the Cowboys' decision to sign veteranT.Y. Hilton on December 12. Brown had 6 receptions for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns against theJacksonville Jaguars, but he also dropped a potential first-down reception; this gave the Jaguars the chance to mount a final drive and set up the winning field goal. In the last 3 contests of the season, he posted 3 receptions for 22 yards.
He appeared in 16 games, registering career-highs in starts (13), receptions (43), receiving yards (555), yards per reception (12.9) and touchdowns (3). He also tied for fifth on the team with 4 special teams tackles.
On March 17, 2023, Brown signed a one-year contract with theHouston Texans.[31] He was placed on injured reserve on September 13,[32] and was activated on October 14.[33] In a Week 10 game against the Bengals, Brown had his best career game, catching 7 passes for 172 yards as the Texans won 30–27.[34] He would play for five more games, accumulating 12 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown to end the season. He appeared in a total of 10 games with 7 starts, making 33 receptions for 567 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In the Wild Card playoff game against theCleveland Browns, he received one target and was unable to add to his postseason stats, playing only five snaps. On January 15, 2024, Brown was put on injured reserve, after suffering a shoulder injury on the second drive of the game.[35]
On March 15, 2024, Brown re-signed with the Texans.[36] On August 27, the Texans released Brown.[37]
On August 29, 2024, Brown signed with theWashington Commanders.[38] He reunited with head coachDan Quinn, who was the defensive coordinator with the Cowboys. In Week 8 against theChicago Bears, Brown caught a 52-yardHail Mary pass in theendzone from rookie quarterbackJayden Daniels as time expired to win the game in a play known as theHail Maryland.[39] The play was later named theNFL Moment of the Year.[40] In Week 13, Brown suffered an injury to his kidney against theTennessee Titans and was placed on injured reserve.[41] Prior to the injury, he appeared in 11 games with 9 starts, totaling 453 yards and one touchdown on 35 receptions.[42]
On March 18, 2025, Brown re-signed with the Commanders on a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million.[43][44] On October 15, he was placed on injured reserve due to a groin injury.[45]
| General | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | Y/R | Y/G | TD |
| 2017 | DAL | 13 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2018 | DAL | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 54 | 10.8 | 6.8 | 0 |
| 2019 | DAL | Did not play due to injury | |||||||
| 2020 | DAL | 16 | 1 | 24 | 14 | 154 | 11.0 | 9.6 | 0 |
| 2021 | DAL | 13 | 1 | 25 | 16 | 184 | 11.5 | 14.2 | 0 |
| 2022 | DAL | 16 | 13 | 74 | 43 | 555 | 12.9 | 34.7 | 3 |
| 2023 | HOU | 10 | 7 | 55 | 33 | 567 | 17.2 | 56.7 | 2 |
| 2024 | WAS | 11 | 9 | 56 | 35 | 453 | 12.9 | 41.2 | 1 |
| Career | 87 | 34 | 251 | 150 | 2,000 | 13.3 | 23.0 | 6 | |
| General | Receiving | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | Y/R | Y/G | TD | ||||||
| 2018 | DAL | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0 | ||||||
| 2021 | DAL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2022 | DAL | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 9.8 | 19.5 | 0 | ||||||
| 2023 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2024 | WAS | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||||
| Career | 6 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 58 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 0 | |||||||
