Sydney Brown Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile

 

 

Sydney Brown Scouting Report: Illinois, S

 

 

2023 NFL Draft Measurements

Sydney Brown 40-Yard Dash: 4.47

6‘0“ / 205 lbs.

 

 

Sydney Brown Draft Profile

I’m sure if you reading this draft profile, you’re also aware of Sydney’s twin brother and teammate Chase Brown. On Chase’s draft profile, I shared a link to a story that describes both brother’s journey with dealing with hardships at home to their on-field success. So please, make sure to check out Chase’s draft profile as well as the story of their incredible journey.

Now, in regards to Sydney, he found his way down to St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Bradenton, Florida. During his two seasons, he helped lead his team to back-to-back state championships. Brown would finish those seasons with 132 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three interceptions, 10 passes defended, one force and recovered fumble. Along with all of this, like his brother, he was also a member of the school’s track-and-field team. He competed in the 400m, 4x400m relay, and 4x100m relay disciplines.

 

College

While he did miss two games his freshman year, Sydney still made an immediate impact starting in 10 games (seven at safety, three as a nickel back). He would finish the season with 55 tackles, two tackles for loss, five pass breakups, and an interception. In 2019, Brown would once again miss two games due to injury. This didn’t stop him from racking up 88 tackles and three interceptions for the season though. In the covid shortened 2020 season, he started in six games finishing with 36 tackles and a forced fumble.

His 2021 season was the first season that he was able to play the entire season without injury. Thanks to that, he was able to lead his team with 81 tackles (including 50 solo endeavors), 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, three passes defended, and two forced fumbles. This earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten honorable mention squad as selected by the coaches and media, and firmly on most (if not all) NFL team’s draft boards heading into the 2022 season.

Not to be outdone by his brother’s success, Sydney had a standout senior season. While his tackles were down from previous seasons (59 in 2022), he led the Big Ten and was third in the nation in interceptions with six. Based on Pro Football Focus rankings, Brown was eighth in the nation in forced incompletions (8), and finished the season with a 89.9 grade in man-to-man coverage. That graded out as the best in the nation for a safety. He would be named to the first (coaches) and second (media) All-Big Ten teams, as well as receiving multiple All-American selections from different publications.

 

Strengths

 

Man-to-Man Coverage

When you have PFF’s highest grade at your position for a statistic, that means your probably pretty good at it. Brown isn’t afraid to get physical with the receiver at any point during the route. He does a solid job of jamming receivers coming off the line, stays on them throughout the route, and does a great job of contesting catches. We’ll touch on zone coverage in a second.

 

Versatility

This section is going to cover a number of topics, mainly because I don’t want to make this report super long. I touched on his effective man coverage skill, but he’s not a slouch in zone coverage either. He does a nice job of sinking into his area and reading both the quarterback’s eyes as well as the routes of the receivers. He had plenty of plays where he broke towards the receiver before the quarterback through the ball. But his versatility doesn’t stop there. Brown had more snaps lined up in the box (444) than he did at safety (60). He also lined up as a slot corner (177 snaps) and outside corner (36 snaps) throughout the season. While I don’t think he’s going to light up his 40 time at the combine, he’s fast enough to stick with most receivers, but big enough to handle covering tight ends as well.

 

Weaknesses

 

Aggressiveness

The worst grade that PFF gave Sydney was on his rush defense (67.8). When studying him, I could see why. While I like the fact that he wasn’t afraid to mix it up, he was often far too aggressive. I watched him time and time again get fooled by play action or RPO fakes. Even when he would make the correct read, there were times he would over pursue the runner and leave room for a cutback. Luckily, this is something that a solid coach can correct at the next level.

 

Injury Concerns

The only game that Sydney missed during his final two seasons was the bowl game this past season. And that was only because he wanted to prepare for the NFL draft. While that is a good sign, it’s hard to overlook missing six games his first three seasons at Illinois. While he’s still young enough to recover, anyone that dealt with injuries knows that as you get older, those old injuries start to come back. They start off as nagging pains, and then you find yourself re-injuring yourself. Obviously, Brown will be ran through a gambit of medical testing prior to the draft. Hopefully no reports come out that could potentially hurt his draft stock.

 

Sydney Brown Draft Stock

Brown’s draft stock has really seen an increase since the end of the season. Especially with his great showing down in Mobile, AL at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Currently, according to NFL Mock Draft Database, Sydney is projected as a 3rd round pick. ESPN’s Mel Kiper recently had Brown has his #5 safety prospect, behind the likes of Brian Branch, Antonio Johnson, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Jammie Robinson.

 

Final Thoughts on Sydney Brown

I have to admit that Sydney did not meet the expectations that I had of him when reading on him before studying. But that’s because I was expecting more from him than the typical safety. What I got was a player that could check a lot of boxes for teams at the next level. I think that Brown’s biggest issue going into the draft, is finding a team that needs a player like him. The “tweener” seems to be one of those positions that causes a player to drop. Not because they’re not talented, but because teams have a hard time finding a spot on the roster for them. Regardless, Sydney does far too much well for him not to land on some team’s 53. This is a player that I’ll be paying close attention to come draft time.

 

Sydney Brown Player Comparison

Tyrann Mathieu (S – New Orleans Saints)

 

 

Sydney Brown Scouting Report Analyst – Brandon Claburn