Sydney Brown is the brother of Illinois running back Chase Brown and heralds from a very athletic family. His role in the Illinois defense has certainly evolved over his five years as a starter. In 2022, Brown spent most of the season in the box, playing almost more of a linebacker role. Brown has a ton of attractive tools for NFL teams to be attracted to.
HT: 5016
WT: 205
Year: Super Senior
High School: St. Stephens (Bradenton, FL)
Rating: 3-star (0.8294)
Sydney Brown scouting notes
Pros:
- Good speed. Should test well in this area.
- Good lateral quickness.
- Very explosive defender.
- Works down into the box well. Strong wrap up when he tries.
- Played both deep and underneath zone coverage effectively. Stays true to his assignment very well, not typically found cheating up.
- Really does well to be physical and contest the catch point, even when he’s in less-than-advantageous situations (size mismatches, bad positioning, etc). Might be too physical, still creating contact well beyond the five yard limit downfield.
- Good space defender when he can get on the ball carrier. Needs to shore up his pursuit technique.
- Does a good job staying in his position.
Cons:
- Doesn’t have a great upper body.
- Doesn’t always try to wrap up. Struggles to secure tackles routinely, gave up some huge plays throughout 2021.
- Typically pursuit angles are good. Can over-pursue at times and miss tackles.
- Not a great blitzer. Doesn’t time the snap nor the gap well.
