It was a true joy to watch the Brown brothers play football at Illinois, and now we get to watch them in the NFL.
Sydney Brown was a great Illini defensive back since joining the program back in 2018. He would end up earning All-Big Ten first-team and All-American third-team honors as a senior. These honors were earned by Brown after putting up some big numbers for the Orange and Blue.
As a senior, Brown was all over the field. He would finish 2022 with 60.5 tackles, 7.0 pass deflections, 6.0 interceptions, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 1.0 fumble recoveries, and 1.0 forced fumbles. He also had two defensive touchdowns, one from an interception and the other was a scoop and score.
These great numbers caught the eye of the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff, and with the No. 66 pick in the second round, the Eagles pulled the trigger and picked Brown.
Takeaways from Day 3 of #Eagles training camp:
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 30, 2023
** Great day for passing offense. Hurts was really good with his down the field accuracy and the result was a few big plays against good coverage
** Quez Watkins had one of his best days in an Eagles uniform in practice. Made…
Philadelphia Eagles depth chart projection – Sydney Brown
Brown was always projected to be a decently high draft pick. Teams loved this kid, and the Eagles got a special player. Just a few days into training camp, Brown is projected as a second-string free safety for Philadelphia. He is only behind Reed Blankenship.
Much like Jartavius Martin, it is impressive that the Eagles picked Brown so high in the draft. Philadelphia ranked No. 5 in pass coverage defense in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus. The fact that the Eagles have such a talented pass defense and still used a second-round pick on Brown shows you what they think of the ball-hawking safety.
There are murmurs out there that Brown could eventually move into the starting free safety position. He is performing well in training camp and flying around the field. The player ahead of Brown, Blankenship, is only in his second season. In 2022, he had 34 tackles and one interception in 10 games. My guess is that Brown starts the preseason on the second string and by game one of the regular season, he is starting.