Ji’Ayir Brown was not heavily recruited, coming out as a 3-star JUCO safety and the 18th overall JUCO prospect in the class of 2020 per 247Sports composite, probably for his lack of top-end speed. The part of Brown’s game that makes him an exciting draft prospect is his very solid instincts. He became a starter at Penn State in 2021 and hasn’t looked back. Brown might not be an impact player right away, but when he gets his chance on the field, I think it will be very difficult for a team to desire to take him off.
Ji’Ayir Brown
FS – Penn State Nittany Lions
HT: 5112
WT: 208
Year: Super Senior
High School: Trenton Central (Trenton, NJ)
Rating: N/A
JUCO: Lackawanna (Scranton, PA)
JUCO Rating: 3-star (0.8830)
Projected Draft Grade: Future Impact Player
Projection: 5th/6th Round
Ji’Ayir Brown scouting notes
Pros:
- Good upper body strength.
- Very fluid hips. Changes direction well overall.
- Physical tackler. Tends not to wrap up. Does deliver a nice hit regardless.
- Takes good pursuit angles, both to the boundary and down into the box.
- Good space defender, seems to make a lot of tackles in space. Stays true to his assignment when in contain.
- Very good instincts. Rarely found out of position.
- Reads plays decently well, and reaction is mostly quick.
Cons:
- Average speed for the position. Might not test under 4.60.
- Average body control.
- Needs to be more aggressive in his zone when working downhill into underneath coverage. Would like to see him more decisive, has so much wasted movement with his reaction at times.
