NFL Draft 2023 Tracker: Live Blog and Pickup Analysis
With the 66th overall pick, obtained as part of a settlement with the Arizona Cardinals over tampering with Jonathan Gannon, the Eagles selected Illinois safety Sidney Brown. The selection came immediately after Alabama’s 65th overall offensive lineman Tyler Steen was selected. Right now, they’re slated to have four picks going into the third day of the draft — one in the sixth round (188th overall) and three in the seventh (219th overall). 230 and 248).
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Arrange a large plate
Brown was 123rd on the Brugler senior plate, being selected in the fourth round.
“Brown plays with excellent leverage as a quick defender along with physical strength and angles for a quick stop,” Bruegler wrote. Although his lack of explosiveness is evident against wide receivers, he remains square in his drops against tight ends with smooth motions to be in the right place at the right time. Overall, Brown needs to strengthen his tackling and discipline skills in NFL boxing duties. American, but he’s instinctive while playing full speed and letting everything he has on the field. His value to the NFL team will be as a starting special team and rotational safety/subpack box.”
introduction
The last time the Eagles drafted a safety this high was in 2011 when they used a second-round pick on Jaiquan Jarrett, so this is a departure from their usual way of doing business. Howie Roseman has spoken before about the difficulty of evaluating a safety in the draft, and there seemed to be a bunch of runaway safeties on the board at the time of the Browns’ selection. The Eagles think they know something about the future of the 23-year-old Browns, who was a starter for five years and captain in 2022.
How does it fit him
Along with the linebacker, the safety was the tender position on the team heading into the draft. After CJ Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps both left via free agency, the Eagles were left to find two fresh starters for the position. Reed Blankenship, an unpopular rookie last season, will be in the mix to start, likely along with free agent addition Terrell Edmonds. If Brown impresses this summer, it looks like he has every chance of earning a starting job.
bullish effect
Given how far this pick has strayed from the Eagles’ recent history, one wonders if new defensive coordinator Sean Desai played a significant role. Safety is Desai’s specialty in the position, so it’s reasonable to think he’d have layered ideas about what he wants from the position. At the Browns, the Eagles get someone with extensive starting experience (50 of his 51 career games) at a Power 5 school, which has little to do with NFL success. At 5-10, 211 pounds, he’s compact but well tested in the pre-draft process.
Depth graph effect
In some rankings, it’s reasonable to expect Brown, Blankenship, and Edmunds to be the top three safeties. With K’Von Wallace, in the final year of his rookie deal, and veteran free agent Justin Evans battling for the fourth spot, along with the versatile Josiah Scott. Safety now feels like the only situation with a real boot camp site battle on the way.
Quick evaluation
Brown was a Second Team All-American as a fifth year in 2022 with six interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. His twin brother Chase, a teammate from Illinois, will likely be recruited as a running back. He played on a secondary originally sculpted by Lovie Smith that eventually included first-round pick Devon Witherspoon and fellow safety Quan Martin, Brugler’s No. 3 safety. Brown checks all the boxes you want from a safety profile mid-round, but the selection is a departure from consensus at this point in the draft.
(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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