Tennessee Titans rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was thrown to the wolves in his first NFL season.
Brownlee, a fifth-round pick out of Louisville, was only expected to be a part-time player for the Titans this season after the team traded for L’Jarius Sneed and signed Chidobe Awuzie in free agency. However, injuries to both players gave Brownlee an opportunity to play when he otherwise wouldn’t have had one.
This meant that Brownlee had to learn on the job, which led to an imperfect game.
“He’s a scrappy young player who plays aggressively.” Titans head coach Callahan said about Brownlee via team reporter Jim Wyatt. “But he’s got to improve his technique and his hand placement. He’s learning, in this league, if the technique and hand placement aren’t correct, they’ll call it out. Some of them are tough lessons.”
These lessons that Callahan is referring to are things that will come as Brownlee continues to play. This is something that comes with more experience, and Brownlee has certainly learned it over the course of the season.
With Sneed out for the year and Awuzie still on injured reserve (although he plans to return soon), Brownlee will continue to see increased playing time as the season winds down over the final five weeks.
Brownlee has already racked up nine starts this season, so he’s learning a lot in his first year in the league. However, when Sneed and Awuzie are healthy next season, Brownlee will need to show that he has learned from his rookie mistakes in order to earn playing time in the future.
Brownlee and the Titans are back in action on Sunday when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.
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