Brandon Marshall Enjoying Career Renaissance, Building All-Pro Resume in 2015

At 31 years of age, joining his fourth team after being traded away more than once for character concerns, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Brandon Marshall's career was headed in a bad direction.

The former Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins receiver was let go by the Chicago Bears when they changed their coaching staff ahead of this season. Marshall, a receiver who caught eight touchdowns last season while playing through injury, was dealt for just a fifth-round pick.

Nobody would argue that Marshall's talent is and was worth much more than just a fifth-round pick.

Anyone acquiring Marshall was doing so understanding that there were concerns about how he would fit with his new team. Fortunately for the New York Jets, those concerns have so far been irrelevant. Marshall has not only been an ideal member of the Jets franchise, he has been a hugely valuable member of the offense.

He entered Week 13 with 71 receptions for 931 yards and nine touchdowns.

Marshall's yards accounted for 34 percent of the Jets' passing yards, his receptions accounted for 30 percent of the team's completions and his touchdowns accounted for 41 percent of their passing touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Marshall had eight drops entering this week.

Eight drops is a lot, and Marshall has missed many plays that he should expect to make, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Criticizing Marshall for dropping the ball would be unreasonable considering how he has created so many yards this season. Marshall isn't playing with a quarterback who offers him great service. He's playing with Ryan Fitzpatrick, someone who is reliant on Marshall to dominate at the catch point.

The veteran has consistently created separation at every level of the defense while making contested catches by adjusting through contact or high-pointing the ball in the air. Fitzpatrick doesn't need to be precise because Marshall is so dominant.

He's dominant to the point that he is rebounding into an All-Pro-level player.

You can be certain that the Bears didn't believe Marshall was still capable of being an All-Pro when they traded him away. The fact that they gave away so little suggested that the rest of the league didn't think he could be this good again, either.

In Week 13, Marshall had his best game of the season. He caught 12 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown with a long of 25 yards against the New York Giants. Fitzpatrick targeted Marshall 13 times, with the one pass he didn't catch falling well short of the mark. 

Marshall didn't drop a single pass while making key plays that your typical starting receiver in the league couldn't make.

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Late in the fourth quarter and down seven, the Jets desperately needed a play. It was 1st-and-goal at the Giants 9-yard line with less than 40 seconds left in the game. So of course, they went to Marshall.

Marshall lined up to the top of the screen and, fearing his ability to manhandle their defensive backs at the line of scrimmage, the Giants aligned their defensive backs off the line of scrimmage.

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The Giants were anticipating a middle-of-the-field throw, so they lined up seven defenders to blitz before the snap, leaving the back four defensive backs in man coverage. The Giants bailed out of their blitz, but this meant that the middle of the field was crowded and the cornerbacks didn't have safety help outside.

Marshall was left alone against the smaller Prince Amukamara in space.

Fitzpatrick didn't need to do anything particularly difficult on this play. He had to throw the ball on time and show some degree of accuracy to avoid overthrowing the ball. He didn't need to throw Marshall open or be precise because Marshall could beat the defensive back at the catch point.

As the ball lofted through the air toward him, Marshall boxed out Amukamara before extending fully to snag it out of the air. Amukamara was aggressive with his coverage, but his sheer lack of size meant that Marshall wasn't bothered by his actions.

He showed off great control, strength and ball skills to comfortably pull in the game-tying touchdown reception.

While that was Marshall's biggest play of the game, it wasn't his longest. That came earlier in the fourth quarter on a 2nd-and-10 when he converted for a first down deep in Giants territory. More importantly, these two plays together highlight how good Marshall is.

There are plenty of receivers in the league who can high point passes. There are many who can do it as effective goal-line weapons, also. Not many can do that and be so quick and refined in the rest of their skill set.

Marshall is a big receiver, but he's not heavy or lanky. He has an ideal physical frame to blend strength, precision and quickness into his work as a receiver.

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On this play, Marshall isn't given a free release like he was on his touchdown. Instead, he is pressed at the line of scrimmage with a deep safety aligned to his side of the field. Because of the presence of that safety, the cornerback can be aggressive with Marshall at the snap.

It works.

Marshall struggles to release into his route. He is bigger than the defender, but the defender gets a good jam and uses his feet and hands in concert to control Marshall as he works downfield. With Marshall stacked on, Fitzpatrick looks for him on the back-shoulder throw.

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While still fending off the attention of the defensive back, Marshall shows off good awareness to recognize what Fitzpatrick is doing. At that point, he uses his upper body to shift his weight onto the defensive back before making a very impressive cut to turn back toward the football.

As Marshall catches the ball, the defender is a couple of yards away from him.

This gives the receiver a chance to survey his options. Most bigger receivers will happily take the first down by stepping out of bounds, but the more aggressive ones will turn and attempt to run through the defensive back. Marshall doesn't do either of those things. Instead, he acts like a smaller receiver.

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When Marshall caught the ball, he was 12 yards downfield. The play gains 25 in total, so he accounts for 13 with yards after the catch. How does he create those yards after the catch? With his vision, patience and athleticism.

Marshall quickly recognizes that he has an arriving blocker to bend his run around.

However, to set up that blocker he needs to buy some time, so Marshall doesn't immediately advance infield. Instead, he holds his position and shimmies for a moment to create some hesitation in the cornerback pursuing him. This works perfectly, giving Marshall a chance to accelerate past the back of his blocker.

This kind of fluidity and body control is unnatural for a player who is officially listed at 6'4" and 230 pounds. It's what separates Marshall from other receivers, though.

He can be named alongside A.J. Green, Odell Beckham, Dez Bryant, DeAndre Hopkins and Antonio Brown as one of the most well-rounded receivers in the NFL because of his physical talent and ball skills. He overwhelms defensive backs on a regular basis to consistently gain chunks of yardage.

Against the Giants, seven of Marshall's 12 receptions went for at least 10 yards. Fifty-two of Marshall's receptions this season have gained at least 10 yards, while eight of those receptions have gone for touchdowns. He is a hugely efficient intermediate route-runner because of his physical talent and body control.

For the season as a whole, Marshall now has 83 receptions for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He is the first Jets receiver to accumulate more than 1,000 yards in a season since 2006, according to Connor Hughes of the Journal Enquirer. Gil Brandt of NFL.com pointed out on Twitter that Marshall is the first receiver in NFL history to have 1,000-yard seasons with four different teams. The New York Post's Brian Costello added that Marshall is the first Jets receiver with 10 touchdowns since 2003.

It's hard to call this season a redemption story for Marshall because he's never really struggled enough to hit a low point on the football field. He has more than 10,000 yards in his career, with seven seasons in which he caught at least 1,000 yards.

What you can call it is a renaissance, because the league clearly didn't think Marshall was worth investing in during the offseason. The Jets did, and now they are being rewarded with All-Pro performances on a weekly basis.