The lightest player currently in the NFL is a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Standing at 5’9″ and weighing 166 pounds, he is officially listed as the lightest active player in the league.
Brown was born on June 4th of 1997 in Hollywood, Florida (which explains his nickname), but attended college at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He was a star player there having caught 132 passes for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns during his three year collegiate career. Despite being undersized by NFL standards and typically overlooked due to his stature, he became an important part of Oklahoma’s offense during his underclassman years.
The Ravens selected Brown with the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and he had an impressive rookie season with 46 catches for 584 yards and 7 touchdowns. While Brown undoubtedly benefited from teaming up with QB Lamar Jackson and other offensive weapons such as Mark Andrews and Miles Boykin, Hollywood showed himself to be one of the most dangerous slot receivers in football last year. His blazing speed makes him difficult to cover, even when lined up against bigger cornerbacks who can physically outmatch him in size.
Moving forward into 2020, it looks like Hollywood will remain one of Jackson’s primary targets as they look to pick up where they left off last season. It will be interesting to see how defenses gameplan around him given his unique skillset. No matter how opposing teams scheme against Brown though, it looks like we’ll have yet another exciting season from one of the lightest players ever to take an NFL field!
