Fans haven't forgotten about Ravens wide receiver Marlon Brown's rookie season. They haven't forgotten about his game-winning catch in the snow against the Minnesota Vikings in 2013.
That's why one fan during Tuesday's conference call with PSL season ticket holders asked Head Coach John Harbaugh whether Brown will have a bigger role in 2015 than he did in 2014.
Brown went from 49 catches for 524 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie year to 24 receptions for 255 yards and no touchdowns last season. The dip in production was mainly a product of reduced opportunities, not performance.
"It should be a big year for Marlon," Harbaugh said.
A large reason for the stats discrepancy is because of the other receivers the Ravens had in the stable at the time.
In 2013, Baltimore didn't have a lot of receiver depth following Anquan Boldin's departure. Brown started 12 games opposite Torrey Smith. With Steve Smith, Sr., on board last season, Brown became the team's No. 3 or No. 4 receiver.
Brown was asked last month whether he felt he was forgotten.
"I didn't feel I was forgotten," Brown quickly shot back. "Steve came in, and he's a future Hall of Famer, and I had no beef, no problem. Steve helped me out a lot. I'm a team guy. Small me, big team."
In addition to other receivers cutting into his snaps, Harbaugh also said Brown struggled with some injuries midway through last season.
"He's a guy we wanted to have more involved last year," Harbaugh said.
"Marlon, I see him out there, he's really made improvements from last year. … He's a big, broad-boned, talented guy. I think he continues to improve as a receiver as far as the technical aspects of it, refining his skills a little bit."
The 6-foot-5, 214-pounder had a string of seven straight games from Weeks 8-15 in which he caught every pass that came his way. He hauled in 30 of his 38 targets, showing good hands to go along with his massive size.
The Ravens still very much view Brown as a weapon in their offense, but they have many this year. Brown will compete for a starting spot with first-round rookie Breshad Perriman, along with Kamar Aiken and Michael Campanaro again in the mix.
"[Brown's] a guy coming out of Georgia that had some injuries and didn't really play as much for a highly recruited guy as you would have expected," Harbaugh said. "He wasn't even the best wide receiver, supposedly, on Georgia's team. I think our scouts did a great job of identifying him as the guy who is going to be the best pro, and they were right."
