Marquise Goodwin, 32, has consistently run past Browns cornerbacks at OTA practices. (Cleveland Browns)
Browns WR Marquise Goodwin says he’s lost none of his world-class speed at the age of 32
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
One of the revelations from Browns OTAs has been receiver Marquise Goodwin. He’s fast.
OK, that in itself is no revelation.
As a high schooler in Lubbock, TX, Goodwin’s wind-aided 10.24 time in the 100 meters was the second fastest in the state. He was the state champion in the triple jump and long jump, and was a member of the state title-winning 4×100-meter relay team. He set the national high school record in the long jump.
At the University of Texas, Goodwin was a two-time NCAA long jump champion, won the U.S. U.S. Outdoor Track and Field long jump title and was the No. 1 qualifier in the long jump for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.
Goodwin’s 8.11 meter long jump was the best in the qualifying round at the London Summer Olympics. His 7.80 meter long jump in the finals placed him 10th.
At the 2013 NFL Combine, Goodwin posted a 4.27 in the 40-yard dash, which then was the third-fastest 40 time ever at the Combine.
All of those speed and long jump records were set before Goodwin turned 24. Now he’s 32. Guess what? He might be the fastest player on the Browns.
“How much speed have you lost since your prime?” I asked Goodwin after he effortlessly raced past Browns DBs at Wednesday’s OTA practice.
“I think I’m pretty much in my prime, so I don’t think I lost any speed,” he replied. “It’s kind of like fine wine. You just get better with time.”
A very personal motivation
Goodwin said he still considers himself a dual athlete – football and track – and maintains his speed because he trains in the offseason like he’s still competing in world-class track events.
What has allowed him to continue that mentality at the NFL-advanced age of 32?
“Thank you for asking,” he said, and then proceeded to tell an incredible story.
“I got a sister [named Deja] who has never walked a day in her life,” Goodwin said. “She was born with cerebral palsy. I am 10 months older than she is, and that’s my motivation. I’d be doing her disservice if I were to not go and maximize in my sport of ability. If I’m not out running it, if I’m not out jumping, if I’m not out catching footballs and I’m just sitting around being lazy or complaining, then I’m doing her disservice.”
Goodwin continued, “A quick story. I woke up one day in the middle of the night, probably 3:30 or 4 in the morning, and I just hear somebody in the room. And I go around the corner. I’m listening, and my sister’s like, ‘God, just please.’ And I just hear her saying, ‘Please.’ I’m like ‘what?’ She’s like, ‘Please just let me feel what it feels like to walk. I just want my feet touch the ground.’ You hear that, you ain’t going to be motivated?”
Goodwin said he has 13 siblings. When he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2013, Deja and his brother Rickey came to live with him.
“My brother helped take care of her,” Goodwin said. “And one day I was showing her a picture on my phone. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ She was like ‘That’s mama.’ And I’m like, ‘No. Who is this?’ It was a picture of her. She didn’t know. And I’m like, ‘How do you not know who this is?’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ So she’s like, ‘I don’t see myself.’ She don’t see herself in the mirror. She can’t walk. I bought a big ass mirror, put it up, and I picked her up, and I’m just weeping. I’m bawling, because my sister at the time was like 25 and had never seen herself in the mirror.
“You know what I’m saying? So it adds perspective for me. I have no excuses. I’m humbled to be here. I’m super grateful.”
Just run and catch
Goodwin’s professional football career has been better than most track Olympian speedsters.
His best season was in 2017 in Kyle Shanahan’s first season as coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Shanahan was alternating quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Brian Hoyer before he was gifted Jimmy Garoppolo by Patriots coach Bill Belichick at the trade deadline. Goodwin led the 49ers with 56 receptions for 962 yards.
Overall, in nine seasons with the Bills, 49ers, Bears and Seahawks, Goodwin has 187 receptions for 3,023 yards (16.2-yard average) and 18 touchdowns. His catch percentage of 51.7 is not great, but when he catches the ball, good things usually happen.
Goodwin ran under two deep balls thrown by Deshaun Watson in Wednesday’s OTAs. Running past the DBs was no problem.
“It’s really humbling to work with somebody as elite as Deshaun,” Goodwin said. “You see that arm? He’s got God’s arm.
“I don’t really have to guess or wonder ‘Is he going to throw it far enough? Is he going to throw it?’ I look in the air and I’m like, ‘Dang, I got to run.’ So when you have somebody who is as dedicated and as focused and as experienced as he is elite, it just makes my job easier. All I have to do is run.”
And then make the catch.
“That’s the most important part that I feel like people lose sight on,” Goodwin said. “Yeah, I can run a route. I can do whatever. I can make the DB fall. But if I dropped the ball, it was for no reason. So I got to catch the ball.”
Goodwin figures to be the Browns’ No. 4 receiver this year after Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and Donavon Peoples-Jones. He is four years older than Cooper, nine years older than Moore, and eight years older than Peoples-Jones.
And Goodwin is faster than all of them.
