Whether it's East coast or West coast, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown loves playing near Hollywood.
Brown caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter Monday night, sparking the Ravens to their 45-6 rout of the Los Angeles Rams. He opened the scoring by catching a 6-yard toss from Lamar Jackson, breaking wide open as he ran across the middle of the field.
On Baltimore's next possession, Jackson found Brown again, this time in a soft spot between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and safety Taylor Rapp.
When the Ravens opened the season near Brown's hometown of Hollywood, Fla., a similar scenario played out. In his NFL debut, Brown caught a touchdown pass the first two times he touched the ball, sparking Baltimore to a 59-10 rout that officially introduced Brown's explosiveness to the NFL.
Brown is living up to his nickname, bringing a deep-threat pizzazz to the Ravens' offense, tied with tight end Mark Andrews for the team lead in touchdown catches with six. But Brown is far more than just a deep threat. He's good in the red zone. He's a dangerous runner after making the catch.
The return to Los Angeles was a homecoming of sorts for Brown, who began his college career at tiny College of the Canyons Community College in Santa Clarita, Calif. On Monday night, Brown put on a show in front of familiar faces in the stands.
"It was very fun," Brown said. "I saw my coaches from the College of the Canyons. I got family out here. They never get to see me play in person, so for them to see me play in person was pretty cool."
Brown was barely recruited out of high school in Florida, considered too small by many scouts after playing at 126 pounds as a senior. He ventured cross country when College of the Canyons offered him a chance to play, and Brown eventually earned Oklahoma's attention.
Brown became a star for the Sooners, playing with current Ravens teammates Andrews and Orlando Brown Jr. The Ravens took Brown with the 25th pick in this year's draft, the first draft pick for Eric DeCosta as Baltimore's general manager.
It's a draft pick that has paid immediate dividends for Baltimore. Brown wasn't even healthy enough to start training camp, as he was still recovering from offseason surgery. He missed back-to-back games in Weeks 6 and 7 (vs. Bengals, at Seahawks), but has returned to make a big impact.
Brown has forged an immediate chemistry with Jackson both on and off the field. They ride to practice together sometimes, hang out together, and are forming a quarterback-receiver bond that could last for years.
Asked what the Ravens offense is like, Brown said, "Very dangerous. You don't know what to defend. He can do so much, he's got so many weapons. It's hard to defend."
Brown is also difficult to defend, and his speed helps Jackson by making opponents wary of crowding the line of scrimmage. It has been an enjoyable rookie season for Brown, and with the Super Bowl being held in Miami in February, Brown hopes he has another game near Hollywood, Fla. still to play.
