The advice propelling Tennessee Titans' surprise breakout player to immediate NFL success
Before they were teammates — actually, before either of them were officially Tennessee Titans — rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. needed to let L'Jarius Sneed how awed he is by the veteran .
"When I got here on my (pre-draft) visit is when they actually signed (Sneed)," Brownlee said. "I got to be one of the first people to meet him when he came in the building, not knowing if I was going to be here. But, man, when I got the chance to meet him there, I told him right there, 'I appreciate your game. I like the way you play. It's just a blessing to be able to sit here in front of you and tell you this.' "
Sneed and Brownlee aren't just Titans teammates now. Brownlee is starting opposite Sneed just two months into his rookie year, and excelling at that. Among cornerbacks who've played at least 100 snaps this season, Brownlee is allowing the fourth-fewest yards per catch, has posted the 12th-best passer rating against and ranks seventh in Pro Football Focus coverage grade. Those numbers aren't among rookies, mind you. That's among all NFL cornerbacks.
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In two starts since veteran Chidobe Awuzie went on injured reserve, Brownlee has been thrown at 12 times. He has allowed six catches for a total of 21 yards. That included holding Miami Dolphins standouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to two catches for 5 combined yards.
Dating back to OTAs and minicamp, teammates and coaches have drawn comparisons between Brownlee, the fifth-round pick out of Louisville, and Sneed. They're both physical, aggressive, attack-oriented cornerbacks. Brownlee says he admires Sneed's intensity, his swagger, the fluid way he moves on the field and through downs.
Sneed publicly calls Brownlee one of the Titans ' best cornerbacks and says he's proving himself "week in and week out." Brownlee says that behind the scenes, Sneed has been something of a mentor, helping him make the transition from high-upside draft pick to productive NFL starter.
"When I first started my first game against the Dolphins, I was going back home," said Brownlee, a Miami native who grew up in the shadow of Hard Rock Stadium. "So I was going back to my hometown. Everybody made it a big thing for me.
"But (Sneed) told me just to keep the main thing the main thing. Know you're going out there to do one thing and that's play the game. Block out all the outside noise. We know you're back home. But don't let the moment get too big.
"Then the second thing he told me is learning my receivers and learning tendencies from quarterbacks or, depending on what down and distance it is, what routes I would expect and things like that."
Brownlee's role figures to grow even more as the Titans (1-4) prepare to face the Buffalo Bills (4-2) on Sunday (noon CT, CBS). The Bills made a splash move this week, acquiring from the Browns five-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper, a veteran who Brownlee knows through their native Miami connections.
Another Miamian who Brownlee is familiar with? Bills running back James Cook. Brownlee says he and Cook have known each other since Brownlee was "in Pampers, damn near," growing up next door to each other. The two have traded a few trash-talking phone conversations this week in the buildup to the game, but when they take the field Sunday, Brownlee says the competition will be rooted in mutual love.
And it'll be another chance for Brownlee to prove what his coaches and teammates have been saying and seeing for months.
"My guys, they give me a lot of confidence," Brownlee said. "Since I walked in here, since Day 1, my coaches and these guys, they believed in me. They believed in my game and my technique. It's just proving them right."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter,
