The Tennessee Titans selected former Ole Miss wide receiver A.J. Brown in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft while the AFC South franchise won't be regretting such a decision any time soon — that's for sure. Brown stood out in a big way as a rookie, though the upstart pass catcher almost chose baseball over football way back when.
“I was a really good hitter, so that was the fun part about baseball with me, the hitting part,” Brown recently told John Glennon of The Athletic. “The game is just slow. That’s probably why I just fell out of love with it. With football, there’s something you’re doing every play. I mean, who doesn’t like to score touchdowns?”
Brown is fresh off of a stellar rookie season that quickly escalated him to top receiver status on the surging Titans. Building a rapport with quarterback Ryan Tannehill right off the bat — no pun intended — Brown helped lead Tennessee to an appearance in the AFC Championship Game this past season.
Article Continues Below“Sometimes I do. I just know it’s a slower grind [in baseball]. It’s not every day that people get to the big leagues,” Brown added. “You might stay in Single-A or Double-A or Triple-A for your whole career. Most guys never get to the big leagues. That was one of my fears, too, with baseball. I knew in football, I could get to the NFL faster. It just takes so much longer to get to the bigs [in baseball].”
It is safe to say that Brown ultimately chose correctly.