Sydney Brown NFL Draft Overview
Position: Safety
Height: 5′-10″
Weight: 211 pounds
School: Illinois
2023 NFL Draft: Sydney Brown Scouting Report
After spending the past five seasons with the Illinois Fighting Illini, Sydney Brown has finally decided to declare for the NFL Draft. The safety is making his professional debut at the right time, as 2022 was easily the best year of his career. Playing in 12 games, Brown finished his final season with 60 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, one sack, and a career-best six interceptions and seven passes defended.
Sydney Brown originally joined the college football world in 2018. Making an immediate impact, the true freshman recorded 55 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and one interception just one year removed from high school. He followed that up with 88 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, and three interceptions in 2019. Interestingly enough, he did not record a single interception over the next two seasons before exploding for six in 2022.
Strengths
- Rangy player with the speed to be a deep safety in Cover-1 – was a track star in high school;
- Insane athleticism – tested well at just about everything;
- Impressive acceleration to go from zero to 100 in no time at all;
- Strong enough to play press against tight ends;
- Five-year starter with tons of experience.
Weaknesses
- Atrocious tackler that should not be in the box – 16.5% missed tackle rate, per PFF;
- A little too aggressive at times – overpursues and doesn’t adjust;
- 5′-10″ height means he could get Moss’d by taller tight ends;
- Not a good lateral mover – can get juked in the open field;
- Can lose agile receivers in man coverage.
NFL Comparison: Duron Harmon
Teams With Need At Position: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Projection: Round 3
Bottom Line on Sydney Brown
Like so many of the safeties in this class, Sydney Brown’s NFL fate is going to depend on which team drafts him. Brown has a few glaring weaknesses in his game, but if he lands in the right scheme, he has what it takes to be a multi-year starter. The safety is at his best when he’s allowed to patrol the deep part of the field and make breaks on plays. He possesses adequate anticipation and, when combined with his elite speed and acceleration, should be able to deter deep passing attempts and rack up a few turnovers on overly-aggressive quarterbacks.
However, if he lands on the wrong team, it won’t take long before fans squirm every time they see him on the field. Despite his robust frame, Brown is an astonishingly bad tackler. He has the build to wrap up ball carriers so, in theory, this could be a fixable problem, but the coaching staff at Illinois couldn’t teach him how to wrap up for five years straight, so it’s unlikely an NFL coaching staff will do much better. If you try to make him a box safety or pseudo linebacker, it’s not going to work.
Additionally, Brown is a much better in zone coverage than man. While he has the strength to match up against tight ends, he doesn’t have the size. He’ll always remain close to tight ends, but sometimes coverage is simple math: if there’s a high pass, 6′-5″ beats 5′-10″. Receivers, meanwhile, can give him some trouble in man as well. Brown is at his best moving in a straight line, so if you put him in the slot and ask him to cover an option route, it probably won’t go too well.
Ultimately, Sydney Brown is a good player in the right role. Hopefully, the safety lands on a team with a clear vision of how to utilize him and play to his strengths. If that happens, he should be able to contribute right out of the gate and could even compete to start before long.
