Player: Ji’Ayir Brown

School: Penn State 

Measurables:

• Height: 5’11” (NFL Combine)
• Weight: 203 (NFL Combine)

• 40: 4.65 (NFL Combine)
• 10 Yard Split: 1.56 (NFL Combine)
• Bench: 18 (NFL Combine)
• Vertical Jump: 32.5” (NFL Combine)
• Broad Jump: 9’11” (NFL Combine)
• 3 Cone: DNP
• 20 Yard Shuttle: DNP
• Other Notes: For as much as Daniel Jeremiah talked about him, he did not stand out at the combine in anyway 

Graded Position Specific Traits:

• Field Vision: 8/10
• Range: 5.5/10
• In-The-Box Zone Coverage: 7.5/10
• Deep Zone Coverage: 7.25/10
• Tackling: 8.5/10
• Man Coverage: 7/10
• Run Support: 7/10

Prospect Grade: 50.75/70; 72.5%- At least 1-2 pro bowls with the potential for multiple pro bowls 

Projected Draft Day: Round 2- Early Round 3

Player Comparison: Shades of Lewis Cine

Player Summary:

Brown is the only safety prospect I’ve scouted recently that comes anywhere close to our current Safety 1, Christopher Smith from Georgia. Brown was a prospect that Daniel Jeremiah was hyping up at the Combine, which naturally makes me very hesitant to want to look at him. However, I have to be honest Jeremiah was finally right about something. Brown looks really good on tape, I like him a lot. Brown very much has a strong safety mentality, but is able to play in the box or roam deep.

In the box, he wasn’t blitzed a ridiculous amount, but when they did let him go he was a relentless blitzer. He was very productive in getting pressure and being disruptive in what I saw. On the goal line, they lined him up as an edge defender. It was really interesting because against Michigan he actually put his hand on the ground and played out of a three point stance. The best part is he actually took on a block from the pulling guard and made the tackle for loss. 

As much as I like Brown he does have some things that need to be cleaned up. In coverage, I worry about his ability to play man against WRs and athletic TEs at the next level. His 4.65 40 shows up on tape, he does look slow at times. It’s not so much his man technique, but the fact that a single break route could create more separation than he can recover from and certain players I think will just run past him. In regards to tackling and run support, Brown can get himself in bad positions because he takes bad angles at times, and again he does not have the speed to recover. It just seems like he either overestimates his own speed or underestimates the ball carrier’s speed. Final note, is that he is a really good tackler; however, he does tackle high at times. Bigger stronger players at the next level are going to be able to shake him off more than college players.