Former Jets preseason favorite lands in Kansas City with something to prove

Jason Brownlee is used to turning heads this time of year.

For the last two offseasons, Brownlee has earned plenty of praise from his former teammates and coaches with the New York Jets as a promising young wide receiver hoping to break through. Now with a new team, he's hoping to generate some similar hype with the Kansas City Chiefs this spring.

Fans of the New York Jets will tell you that Brownlee was always on the cusp over the last two years for Robert Saleh's offense. Yet after two years of positive reports and tough roster battles, Brownlee decided to head toward less-green pastures to play in K.C.

Brownlee is likely unknown even to most diehard Chiefs fans at this stage of the offseason, but Kansas City's front office has to relish the chance to see him up close in OTAs and training camp this offseason. The wideout battle will be difficult, but Brownlee has already proven his ability to come out ahead in such competitions early in his NFL career.

Jason Brownlee made waves with the Jets in the past. Now he's hoping to do the same for the Chiefs in a crowded receiver room.

The Jets rewarded Brownlee with the most guaranteed money of any of their undrafted free agent signings in 2023 in order to secure his services. The former Southern Miss star ended up breaking camp on the team's 53-man roster, although he played sparingly for the Jets in 2023. Brownlee was a favorite on Hard Knocks and the fact that he played in 7 games, and even made 5 starts, as a rookie was impressive.

During the 2024 offseason, ESPN's Rich Cimini called Brownlee a player to watch coming into his second season. Once again, he made the active roster when cuts were due in 2024, but that lasted a brief moment before the Jets placed him on the practice squad in favor of other roster moves. Brownlee would remain there for the duration of the season.

Instead of joining the Jets once again with a futures deal, Brownlee is now in Kansas City with a handful of pro catches on his resume and two promising offseasons in New York. The question is whether or not he can make waves for Andy Reid's staff like he did for Saleh.

A 6'3", 202 lb. receiver, Brownlee is a lengthy target with an impressive catch radius who had 55 catches for 891 passing yards and 8 touchdowns for Southern Miss in his final season. The Jets clearly loved his potential, and the Chiefs have proven their own curiosity as well.

The downside for Brownlee is that he could never catch on with the Jets in a special teams capacity, and other developmental receivers ended up passing him on the depth chart because of it. The Chiefs aren't going to carry a fringe receiver who is not an asset in the same capacity, so it will be interesting to see how he looks in competition and what the team asks of him.

Brownlee is an upside play at wideout who has already made an active roster as a rookie free agent. That much speaks for itself and the Chiefs might have been in on the bidding in 2023 when he signed with the Jets instead. Either way, they're invested now to see whether or not Brownlee can upset the pecking order once again.