NAME: Dyami Brown
POSITION: Wide Receiver
SCHOOL: North Carolina
HEIGHT: 6’1”
WEIGHT: 185 pounds
CAREER BACKGROUND
Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dyami Brown attended West Mecklenburg High School. He nearly racked up 1,000 receiving yards in his junior season of high school (999 yards). Brown also added 14 touchdowns that season, as well as five interceptions as a defender. To follow up in his senior season, the receiver caught 41 passes for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns. Brown added five rushing scores to his total that season also. He was subsequently named to the NCPreps.com all-state team. 247Sports rated Brown as a four-star recruit. According to ESPN, he was the number five prospect to come out of the state of North Carolina in his class. He ultimately chose the Tar Heels over schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Virginia Tech.
Brown saw the field in ten total games during his true freshman season of 2018, starting six of them. He hauled in 17 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown that season. Brown put his name at or near the top of many school or conference record books in his sophomore season of 2019. Most prominently, he led the ACC in yards per reception (20.3), and was named a third team All-ACC selection. Brown also tied a school record with 12 receiving touchdowns. Finally, he set a single season school record with a receiving touchdown in at least ten games.
Brown was just as dominant in his junior season of 2020 at North Carolina. While starting all 11 games, he recorded 1,099 receiving yards, becoming the first receiver in program history with two 1,000 yard receiving seasons. 2020 also saw him named first team All-ACC, and Brown was also a Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist.
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SCOUTING REPORT
Positives
Ball Skills
What sticks out with Brown and his hands, is how natural he grabs the ball out of the air. Adjusting and tracking the football allows him the possibility to come down with any ball thrown his way. Brown showed a great feel for attacking the football while the ball was in the air. This made it so easy for him in between zones to make catches look simple. Always with high concentration on the football, Brown understands how to protect the ball and keep it in front of his chest. This makes the receiver dangerous as a player on comeback routes.
Big Play Ability
Having back to back seasons of 1,000 receiving yards and 20+ yards per reception is no small feat, especially on an offense that has playmakers as deep as North Carolina. In short areas, Brown has quick reactionary skills. He does not waste time in getting up the field or throwing a shoulder into a defender if need be. Meanwhile, Brown has excellent spatial awareness that fit in well with the offensive style the Tar Heels wanted to run. A lot of the time, they would throw him the ball and allow him to work his magic in space after the catch. He is not the most elusive receiver with the ball in his hands. However, Brown has a strong physical side to run through opponents. And his natural instincts show up in crucial moments down the field, if he needs to run around somebody.
Football IQ
Piggybacking off of his spatial awareness some more, Brown does a really good job of staying under control. He knows when to throttle down in order to find that open crease and give his quarterback a wide open throwing window. On the other hand, Brown can leave defenders in the dust by turning on the jets. He can be deceptive before the catch, if he wants to. The problem is, we have not seen that resonate consistently with Brown yet.
Furthermore, Brown is a tremendous blocker. Not many receivers are as polished in this area entering the league. Yet, he does well to once again, stay under control. This comes both before setting the block and after latching on to the defender. Brown does well to give runners a clear path with which to work off of. He allows them to read his back and the slightest of openings can lead to a chance at a home run threat.
Negatives
Catch Comfort
Yes, Brown has soft hands. He can make some of the most difficult plays look like easy catches. Nonetheless, there is still some plays where Brown has struggled to find consistency finishing. Drops were a partial issue for him at North Carolina. This can show up on intermediate routes over the middle of the field. Or, in contested catch situations down the field. Brown has the knack to display a physical side, if he wants to. There is room to grow in fifty-fifty situations. He can stand to be more assertive against physical defensive backs. Brown will have to learn how to better time jumps in those spots as well.
Releases
This receiver is more calculated and patient, than he is crafty. Brown has struggled to work through contact at the line of scrimmage. His lack of fakes and counters allow defenders to key in on him quickly. Rarely, does Brown use his upper half or body to beat press man coverage. Using strictly his lower half and initial quickness to run around opponents will not always lead to success at the NFL level. When he has enough room, Brown can surprise defensive backs with his quick, twitchy moves. He just does not have ample confidence and comfort in a complete release package as of now.
Depth Of Route Tree
Brown does really well when running vertical routes. He has no issues when being asked to stack defenders down the field. In the mean time, Brown is a bit limited as a route runner. North Carolina did not put a ton of different routes on his plate. Added development will be needed on in-breaking routes or on plays where he runs closer to the line of scrimmage. Additionally, Brown can still work to run sharper and crisper routes. He has had trouble with rounding the top of his route stems. Finally, the receiver has struggled to time his breaks and changes of direction in traffic over the middle of the field.
Chiefs Fit
We know how dangerous the Kansas City Chiefs offense can be. With Patrick Mahomes slinging it across the yard, dominant weapons in guys like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill and Andy Reid loving to air it out, Dyami Brown could be a perfect fit in this offense. The big play ability he has is well documented. Whether it was with eating up cushion on vertical routes, or letting him work in space, North Carolina saw consistently solid production from Brown. His ability to stay under control and also make the defender look helpless fits in the offense as well. With defenses already having to focus on so many other weapons, Brown could provide a large output almost immediately.
Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout the winter and spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
