Surprise Running Back Aaron Brown Can Seemingly Do Lots For the Detroit Lions

When the Lions selected Aaron Brown out of TCU in the sixth round of the NFL draft, they weren't expecting much. The thought was that maybe he could contribute to Special Teams. In his first game action with the Lions, Brown proved that he can do more than that.

Aaron Brown had an up and down career at TCU. He was the 2007 preseason Mountain West Conference player of the year before he sprained his ankle and had a disappointing season. His senior season was much better. He had 547 yards on 5.5 yards per carry.

There's no doubt that Brown has the talent, but it's been the off the field issues that had teams scared in the draft.

In his senior year of high school, he was suspended all but one game for a graffiti incident. He was also suspended three games in of his senior season at TCU for violating team rules.

The Lions decided to overlook that and select Brown in the sixth round. Brown showed up to camp and right away impressed the team with his speed.

Brown slowly moved his way up the depth chart and went from being a player who was battling for a roster spot to a player who was batting for playing time at running back as a rookie.

In Brown's pre-season debut, he shined, breaking a 32-yard touchdown run and then later in the game catching a short pass and going 45 yards for another touchdown. Brown may only be a rookie sixth round pick, but he is already making a push for playing time this year.

The touchdowns weren't the only impressive thing Brown did that day. After his second touchdown, Brown pulled a perfect roundoff backflip and stuck the landing.

Brown commented on the celebration after the game saying, "The first one I thought about it and said, 'Nah'. I hadn't done one since high school. The second time I was really excited and felt confident. I had to stick it, it would have been dreadful if I didn't.''

Brown should be a very energetic and exciting player to watch as he goes along his career. Hopefully, he can stay out of any off-the-field trouble that he's run into in the past so he can show his football skills off on Sunday.

Lions fans, be happy with your draft selection, he could be making a big impact sooner than you think.