Welcome to the NFL young beginner! After being important players in their universities, rookies must once again earn their places in the pros. Who are they and what hopes do they raise? Come and discover these new gems. Today, 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown.
Ji’Ayir “Tig” Brown
Born January 25, 2000 in Trenton, New Jersey
1m80 for 82 kilos
Safety, San Francisco 49ers
If I were a route: by a side road
During his senior year of high school in 2017, Ji'Ayir Brown scored at least one touchdown in every possible way: receiving, rushing, throwing a pass, returning an interception, punt, and kick. commitment!
But to be recruited by a university, athletes must also have a minimum educational level. The only alternative is to go to a Junior College, establishment welcoming students for two years and with much fewer academic requirements. He then joined Lackawanna Junior College in Pennsylvania.
There, he plays defensive back alongside Jaquan Brisker (Chicago), already there for a season. A year later, he helped his team reach the championship final despite Brisker's departure to the 1st division. A playing partner that he found the following year at Penn State University.
“He’s more than a friend, he’s my brother. “, he tells The Athletic about Jaquan Brisker
It was Jaquan Brisker's mother who gave him the nickname “Tig”: after Tigger from the cartoon “Winnie the Pooh”. After a 2020 season in the Penn State rotation, Ji'Ayir Brown becomes an indisputable starter on a top 15 college team. He made 147 tackles and 10 interceptions in 26 matches!
Something to seduce the 49ers manager: John Lynch is a former NFL safety (9 Pro Bowl nominations and Super Bowl winner). The latter then uses his franchise's first draft choice in 2023 to select him (choice 87).
If Ji'Ayir Brown was a quality: intelligent
Despite a tortuous school career, Ji'Ayir Brown is a cerebral player. In the modern NFL, a safety must identify whether to hit a runner or which offensive player to cover. A chess player in life, he excels in this type of analysis. He told the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
“I'm not very good at video games. But I can play chess all day. »
The quarterback always signals the linebacker's position to his offensive line, with an audible giving that player's number: for example, ” 54 is the Mike“. For several years, before the ball is engaged, quarterbacks have also observed the positioning of safeties: these players can intervene in various ways.
Ji'Ayir Brown knows how to hide his intentions from the eyes of opposing pitchers. Capable of chasing a runner or covering inside the field, it is difficult to read before the snap. And he owes this intelligence to his work, as his teammate Fred Warner confirms.
“We nickname him “the young veteran” because his game is already very mature. It's not surprising since he's always on his iPad studying videos! »
Thrown into the deep end during a match in week 11, he responded instantly with an interception against Tampa Bay.
If Ji'Ayir Brown was a flaw: missing tackles
A safety must stop a running back in his tracks, or a tight end after he catches the ball. In the NFL, offensive players know how to use small feints to escape the first tackler. Ji'Ayir Brown still has a tendency to take off and then be surprised by a change of support!
This was particularly highlighted during certain plays against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 13. Missing a tackle means giving the opponent the opportunity to gain a few additional yards: a problem in this ground-winning sport. !
If I were an NFL player: Von Bell (Carolina)
Skilled in coverage and also against the run with Ohio State, Von Bell was drafted in the 2nd round by the New Orleans Saints in 2016. Since then, he has had a solid career being this type of versatile because intelligent defensive back: 771 tackles and 39 passes defensed with three different franchises (Saints, Bengals and Panthers).
The two players are similar, both in their size and in the qualities that allow them to play indifferently. free safety Or strong safety.
If I were a project: preparing for the future
Before the 2023 season, San Francisco already has its pair of starters at this position with Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson. But during the offseason, safety Jimmie Ward followed DeMeco Ryans, his defensive coordinator who became coach of the Houston Texans.
The 49ers then choose a project for the future because Gipson is 33 years old and plays in 2023 on his last year of contract. His multiple skills mean that Ji'Ayir Brown can form a complementary duo with Talanoa Hufanga for the next few years. The project is therefore to have two talented young players at a lower cost, in the safety positions that are so important in the team's defensive scheme.
But Hufanga's injury in week 11 disrupts this plan and Ji'Ayir Brown becomes the starter. Used in different ways at Penn State in the scheme Cover-6, Ji'Ayir Brown already seems ready. But the sporting and also psychological dimension of the NFL playoffs is in another dimension: will Ji'Ayir Brown be up to the task?
