JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Diami Brown wanted more opportunities.
After a strong finish in the 2024 season with Washington’s manager, which included second in the playoffs, Brown chose to sign a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If what he did between OTAS and the minicamp was any indication, he was right.
Brown played the role featured in the offense of new head coach Liam Cohen. This has been important since Jaguar drafted receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter second. Pro Bowl receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who received yards as a rookie in 2024 and placed third in the NFL, is also returning. This should set Brown in 2025 to set career bests in career, yards and touchdowns.
“It’s just concentrated and trapped,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, all I can do is study I need to study and continue to perform, study I need to maintain small details, basic things, and I can’t get bored of them.
During the first four years of his career, Brown was immature. The commander drafted him in the third round of 2021 after catching 106 passes for 2,133 yards and 20 touchdowns along with quarterback Sam Howell in his final two seasons at North Carolina. However, Brown only caught 29 passes in 47 games in his first three seasons with the manager, but never appeared as a complement to Terry McClaurin, who scored 1,000 yards per season.
Until the final six weeks of 2024, Brown began to appear, catching 16 passes for 159 yards, earning career-highs in career-high (30) and yards (308). He had the same number of catches as McClaurin (14) and overtook him for two yards (229-227) in Washington’s three playoff games.
Cohen was on the Bucs sideline as an offensive coordinator, and Brown thought it was perfect for what he wanted to do in Jacksonville, especially after the team swapped Christian Kirk for the Houston Texans and released tight end Evan Engram. He envisions a greater role for Brown than what he had with the Commander.
“We’re looking at people who can attack the field at all three levels,” Cohen said. “He can go down the field on the post, on the go, on the pylon and become a top shelf, but he can throw a screen at him.
“Hopefully he can help us on all three levels. He’s hungry. He’s a success at the end of the year. He wants to continue doing that.”
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was impressed by Brown during the spring, saying it appears the two clicked rather quickly.
“His speed is clearly a threat to the field and is important as a receiver. [to] He stretches the field, but he’s a really, really smart footballer,” Lawrence said. …I don’t know if you’re watching a lot of practice. He always seems to be in the right place, so he got a lot of balls. He always has the touch of the zone. [to exploit] Those voids. ”
Cohen loved watching this spring as he examined Jaguar’s belief that Brown could handle a bigger role and his decision to sign him a one-year deal that guaranteed him $9.5 million.
“You really didn’t see him work that far in the middle. [in Washington]And I think during this spring, Trevor and he got a bit of chemistry about those middle vandals, Carl, and perhaps some of the outcuts,” Cohen said.
“…some of the selling points for him to come here is, “Man, we really want to continue diversifying your root tree.
Brown is excited about the expanded role, but he said he is more excited about how explosive the attack is with three quick receivers who can play multiple spots.
“At the end of the day, we want to come and find our identity as to who we are and who we become,” Brown said. “And I think we can make a lot of things happen with the attacks we have and the players we have.
“…everyone is just doing one route. I know we’re all doing the exact same thing, and it’s kind of hard to protect the three of us who can always do the same thing and get explosive at the same time.
