Ji'Ayir Brown provides an exciting glimpse of his promise in preseason debut
The 49ers used their top selection in the 2023 draft, albeit a third-rounder, on safety Ji'Ayir Brown in the belief he can be a long-term starter at the position. It will likely be a while before San Francisco will find out if its faith in the former Penn State star was well-placed. However, the signs […]
The 49ers used their top selection in the 2023 draft, albeit a third-rounder, on safety Ji'Ayir Brown in the belief he can be a long-term starter at the position.
It will likely be a while before San Francisco will find out if its faith in the former Penn State star was well-placed.
However, the signs from his preseason debut for the Niners were promising.
Brown received significant praise in OTAs and minicamp for his playmaking ability. He did not get the opportunity to show that off in the 49ers' loss to the Raiders, but he still managed to impress with a display of his instincts, physical gifts and an aggressive playing style that should mesh extremely well with a fast and violent San Francisco defense.
Instincts
Brown registered 10 interceptions in his final two seasons at Penn State, that tremendous on-ball production in part a product of his proficiency in quickly reading and reacting to what's in front of him.
That quality was evident on Sunday on a couple of occasions when Brown was tasked with triggering downhill from depth.
On this completion from Aidan O'Connell to Tre Tucker, Brown reads the eyes of O'Connell and Tucker's route over the middle expediently and transitions out of his backpedal before the quarterback has even released the ball, allowing him to quickly close to Tucker and prevent a big gain with a strong tackle.
He produced a similar play later on a second and 17 for Las Vegas.
After communicating with Ambry Thomas pre-snap while dropping back from the box to the deep middle, Brown breaks downhill as O'Connell is releasing the ball and, along with linebacker Curtis Robinson, stops the tight end from turning a short throw into an explosive play.
The instincts he displayed on each of those stops are complemented by Brown's quick closing speed in open-field pursuit, which saw him produce a touchdown-saving tackle on Zamir White on the first series of the game.
Brown didn't make the stop on an Ameer Abdullah run on the Raiders' final series before half, but his talents in pursuit were clear for all to see.
Brown gained ground extremely quickly coming downhill but also bent his pursuit angle so that, had Abdullah evaded the tackle of Robinson, he would have been in the perfect spot to make the play.
The 49ers demonstrated a willingness to immediately use Brown's versatility, deploying him as the single-high safety as well as asking him to play the deep middle in two-high looks. They also put him in the slot and in the box, his aggression from the latter position proving key to a turnover on downs.
A physical presence
Brown's aggression and physicality shone through when the 49ers turned the Raiders over on downs in the second quarter with successive short-yardage tackles from Samuel Womack III and Thomas.
While he did not make the play on either occasion, Brown contributed to both stops.
On third down, Brown does an excellent job of attacking the block from the wide receiver, whom he eventually knocks over, and helping ensure White does not have a cutback lane with Womack having taken away the outside by successfully setting the edge.
Then, on fourth down, Brown produced a determined effort that was again critical to taking away White's running lanes.
Las Vegas' offensive line got good push up front, but Brown's success in crashing down and taking on both a wide receiver and a tight end was key to San Francisco clogging the middle, leaving White with nowhere to go and enabling Thomas to come in and bring him down behind the line.
Brown may not have had a chance to make the splash plays that defined his college career, but his fingerprints were all over a 49ers' defensive effort in the first half that improved markedly after the first series.
He is a safety who can make an impact from deep, in the slot and in the box, and Sunday's showing was just an enticing appetiser of what might be to come from Brown this season and beyond.
George Kittle set to miss another week of practice
He might not play a preseason game.
Featured Image Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
