Ji’Ayir Brown NFL Draft Overview
Position: Safety
Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 205 lbs.
School: Penn State
Ji’Ayir Brown 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report
Ji’Ayir Brown, AKA “Tig,” was a three-star recruit from New Jersey at the safety position. He started off at Lackawanna College but switched to Penn State, where he played for three years and started for two. In his first year as a starter in 2021, Brown had 73 total tackles and had a Big-Ten leading six interceptions. He showcased his great ball skills and his ability to be effective in the run game in his junior season. Brown was also nominated for the All-Big Ten Third Team in 2021 for his great defensive performances.
But things really started to click for Brown in his senior season, as he showcased his many abilities. No longer did you just see his ball skills, but also his willingness to help stop the run and his overall playmaking ability. First, he collected a team-leading 74 tackles and recorded seven of those for a loss. He also recorded 4.5 sacks on the year while also forcing two fumbles and recovering another. Not to mention he also had four more interceptions and five pass deflections too. Brown did just about everything and was everywhere on the field. He is a versatile and capable safety who will do just about anything a team needs on defense.
Strengths:
- Versatile safety; can play well in different schemes or in different roles
- Effective at stopping the run, and behind the line too
- Great ball skills paired with plus-sized hands
- Known to be electric, funny, and a good teammate
- Decent coverage skills; reads eyes/passes pretty well
Weaknesses:
- Can sometimes be baited by various forms of misdirection
- 4.65 40-time concerning; has trouble keeping up with receivers sometimes
- Overly aggressive to make plays, could lead to mistakes
- Not overly athletic, fluid despite his frame
NFL Comparison: Bigger Quandre Diggs
Projected Draft Selection: 3rd Round Pick
Teams With Interest/Need at Safety: San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs
Bottom Line on Ji’Ayir Brown
Brown should be a very good plug-and-play safety at the NFL level. He has great playmaking ability to snag both interceptions and fumbles. He is pretty good in coverage, especially in zones, but sometimes struggles in one-on-one’s with his smaller frame and lower speed. However, his outstanding run-stopping ability for both run plays and passing plays through sacks and wrap tackles showcase his all-around ability. “Tig,” as many of his Penn State teammates called him, is an electric player but also a student of the game and is willing to work for whoever, whenever.
Right now, Brown projects to be around a third-round pick. That number surely could change though, depending on how the rest of the draft goes and how some teams choose to fill their needs at various times. Brown could honestly rise to a late second-round pick or fall as far as a fourth or fifth-round pick. He has been linked to both the 49ers and Steelers, as both teams have hosted him for a visit and the Steelers are one of the two in-state teams from where Brown has played for the past three years. Whichever NFL team picks him could very well land a steal of a defensive back, depending on if Brown’s college success can translate over to the NFL.
