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Ji'Ayir Brown

Ji'Ayir Brown
refer to caption
Brown at the 2023 NFL Combine
No. 27 – San Francisco 49ers
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (2000-01-25) January 25, 2000 (age 25)
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Trenton Central (NJ)
College:Lackawanna (2018–2019)
Penn State (2020–2022)
NFL draft:2023: 3rd round, 87th pick
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Total tackles:112
Pass deflections:10
Interceptions:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Ji'Ayir A'Veon Brown (born January 25, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Lackawanna Panthers and Penn State Nittany Lions.

Early life

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Brown was born on January 25, 2000, in Trenton, New Jersey where he attended and played high school football for Trenton Central High School.[1]

College career

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Lackawanna College

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Brown attended Lackawanna College in 2018 and 2019.[2] In 2019, he was the Northeast JC Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Penn State

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In 2020, Brown transferred to Penn State University. After spending his first year in 2020 as a backup, he took over as a starter in 2021.[3][4] In 13 starts, he had 73 tackles, six interceptions and one touchdown.[5] Brown returned to Penn State in 2022.[6][7] He was named the defensive MVP of the 2023 Rose Bowl.[8]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+3⁄8 in
(1.81 m) 		203 lb
(92 kg) 		31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.58 s 1.59 s 2.63 s 4.21 s 35.5 in
(0.90 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 18 reps
Sources:[9][10]

2023

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The San Francisco 49ers selected Brown in the third round (87th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.[11] The 49ers orchestrated a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in order to secure their ability to draft Brown by trading their third- (102nd overall), fifth- (164th overall), and seventh-round (222nd overall) picks to the Vikings in return for their third-round (87th overall) pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was the fourth safety selected in 2023.

On May 13, 2023, the San Francisco 49ers signed Brown to a four–year, $5.39 million rookie contract that includes a signing bonus of $924,224.[12]

Throughout training camp, he competed for the role as the starting free safety against veteran Tashaun Gipson under defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.[13] Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart, behind starting safeties Tashaun Gipson and Talanoa Hufanga.[14]

On September 10, 2023, Brown made his professional regular season debut in the San Francisco 49ers' season-opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was limited to nine snaps on special teams during their 30–7 victory. On November 19, 2023, Brown made four combined tackles (two solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and made his first career interception on a pass attempt thrown by Baker Mayfield to wide receiver Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter of a 27–14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He entered the game in the third quarter, replacing Talanoa Hufanga after he injured his knee.[15] On November 21, 2023, Brown was officially named the starting strong safety for the remainder of the season after Talanoa Hufanga was placed on injured reserve due to a torn ACL. In Week 12, he earned his first career start and recorded four combined tackles (one solo) during a 35–13 victory at the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 14, Brown tied his season-high of six combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Drew Lock to wide receiver D. K. Metcalf as the 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–16.[16] On December 25, 2023, Brown made five combined tackles (three solo) before exiting in the third quarter of a 19–33 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football after injuring his knee. He subsequently remained inactive for the last two games (Weeks 17–18) of the season due to his knee injury.[17] He finished his rookie season with a total of 35 combined tackles (22 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and five starts.[18] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[19] He received an overall grade of 73.4 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2023.[20]

Brown recorded an interception off of Patrick Mahomes during Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, although San Francisco would go on to fall short, 25–22 in overtime.[21] In addition, he recorded 11 total tackles in the game.[22]

2024

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Brown entered the 2024 season as the 49ers' presumptive starting safety, but after struggling in multiple games[23] he was benched in favor of rookie Malik Mustapha.[24][25]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds TD FF FR Yds TD
2023 SF 15 5 35 22 13 0.0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024 SF 16 13 72 46 26 0.0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 31 18 107 68 39 0.0 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

Postseason

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds TD FF FR Yds TD
2023 SF 2 2 21 12 9 0.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 2 2 21 12 9 0.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

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  1. ^ Franko, Kyle (July 19, 2022). "Trenton native and Penn State football star Ji'Ayir Brown determined to show capital city kids anything is possible". Trentonian. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Colllins, Donnie (August 31, 2022). "Brown's rise from Lackawanna to PSU "amazing to see"". Scranton Times-Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Scarcella, Rich (September 7, 2021). "Trenton's Ji'Ayir Brown making impact in Penn State football's secondary". Trentonian. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  4. ^ Juliano, Joe (November 11, 2021). "Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown leads the way in taking the football away from opponents". Inquirer.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Scarcella, Rich (April 24, 2022). "Ji'Ayir Brown takes over leadership of Penn State's secondary". Reading Eagle. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Sauber, Jon (September 1, 2022). "Ji'Ayir Brown bet on himself. Now he's on his way to leading Penn State's defense". CentreDaily.com. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  7. ^ Gross, Mike (September 15, 2022). "Penn State: It's time for a Tig Brown kind of game". LancasterOnline. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Stockburger, George (January 2, 2023). "Sean Clifford named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP to cap off Penn State career". WHTM-TV. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Ji'Ayir Brown Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Ji'Ayir Brown College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. ^ McDonald, Briana (April 29, 2023). "49ers Select S Ji'Ayir Brown with the No. 87 Pick in the 2023 NFL Draft". 49ers.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  12. ^ "Spotrac.com: Ji'Ayir Brown contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  13. ^ Peter Panacy (June 30, 2023). "49ers training camp: Each position's top battle to watch in 2023s". ninernoise.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  14. ^ Kyle Posey (September 5, 2023). "49ers release first unofficial depth chart ahead of Week 1's matchup against the Steelers". ninersnation.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  15. ^ Wagoner, Nick (November 20, 2023). "49ers All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga has torn ACL". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  16. ^ Chan, Jennifer Lee (December 12, 2023). "49ers rookie Brown jokes Warner won't steal another pick from him". NBCSportsBayArea/com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  17. ^ David Bonilla (December 27, 2023). "49ers add Ji'Ayir Brown to lengthy injury list ahead of Commanders game". 49erswebzone.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  18. ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Ji'Yair Brown Career Overview". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  19. ^ "2023 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  20. ^ Jim Wyman (September 3, 2024). "Updated 2024 NFL roster rankings: Strengths, weaknesses and X factors for every starting lineup". PFF.com. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  21. ^ McGuire, Keith (February 11, 2024). "WATCH: Penn State's Ji'Ayir Brown picks off Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  22. ^ "Super Bowl LVIII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 11th, 2024". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  23. ^ Kurtenbach, Dieter (December 2, 2024). "49ers Studs and Duds: A blizzard of bad play as the Niners drop a third straight game". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  24. ^ Panacy, Peter (December 8, 2024). "49ers' Week 14 depth chart move hints at bad news for second-year starter". Niner Noise. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  25. ^ Lee Chan, Jennifer (December 9, 2024). "Why 49ers rookie Mustapha started over Brown in win vs. Bears". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
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