Huard: OTAs are crucial for Seahawks CB Brandon Browner
May 23, 2016, 10:30 AM | Updated: 1:23 pm
Cornerback Brandon Browner will have plenty to prove during the Seahawks' OTAs that start Monday. (AP)
(AP)
There are a number of new faces looking to make positive impressions during the Seahawks’ voluntarily Organized Team Activities that start Monday.
But it’s a familiar face, defensive back Brandon Browner, that Brock Huard says needs to impress most during this portion of the offseason.
“I think it’s boom or bust for him, to be honest with you,” Huard said during “Blue 42” on Monday. “Can you still run, can you still play?”
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OTAs are nine days of non-contact, padless practices that included 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. Browner, who reunited with Seattle by signing a one-year, nonguaranteed contract this offseason, is coming off the most disappointing year of his career in New Orleans, where he led the league in penalties on a team that was historically bad against the pass. Browner turns 32 in August and said he played through a torn MCL last season, but remains one of the NFL’s more physically imposing defensive backs. It’s whether he can move like he did while playing right cornerback for the Seahawks from 2011-2013 that is the lingering question.
“This isn’t about him in pads and can he be filthy and nasty and ferocious,” Huard said. “This is all about your burst. And we have seen some veterans come in here over the last few years and they just don’t have it. You saw Fred Jackson, and he made the team, but he didn’t have any explosion left.”
Coach Pete Carroll told “Brock and Salk” on May 9 that the team plans to use Browner in a unique hybrid role – safety in base downs and then matching up in different areas inside from the nickel package. Huard believes Browner can be an integral piece to an already dominating defense if he can regain his previous form.
“If he can really run or is anywhere close to what he was the first time around, Brandon Browner is going to play a significant role in this team,” he said. “But if he can’t, he won’t make this team.”
