.png) Brown at the 2023NFL Combine | |||||||||||
| No. 27 – San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (2000-01-25)January 25, 2000 (age 26) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed 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 overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||
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Ji'Ayir A'Veon Brown (born January 25, 2000) is an American professionalfootballsafety for theSan Francisco 49ers of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theLackawanna Falcons andPenn State Nittany Lions. Brown was drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the2023 NFL draft.
Brown was born on January 25, 2000, inTrenton, New Jersey where he attended and playedhigh school football forTrenton Central High School.[1]
Brown attendedLackawanna College in 2018 and 2019.[2] In 2019, he was the Northeast JC Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2020, Brown transferred toPenn State University. After spending his first year as a backup, Brown took over as a starter in 2021.[3][4] In 13 starts, he had 73 tackles, sixinterceptions, and atouchdown.[5] Brown returned to Penn State in 2022.[6][7] He was named the defensive MVP of the2023 Rose Bowl.[8]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft11+3⁄8 in (1.81 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 6 ft3+3⁄4 in (1.92 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 | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10] | ||||||||||||
TheSan Francisco 49ers selected Brown in the third round (87th overall) of the2023 NFL draft.[11] The 49ers orchestrated a trade with theMinnesota Vikings in order to secure their ability to draft him 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. Brown was the fourth safety selected in 2023.
On May 13, 2023, the 49ers signed Brown to a four-year, $5.39 million rookie contract that included asigning bonus of $924,224.[12]
Throughout training camp, Brown competed for the role as the starting free safety against veteranTashaun Gipson under defensive coordinatorSteve Wilks.[13] Head coachKyle Shanahan named Brown the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart behind Gipson andTalanoa Hufanga.[14]
Brown made his professional regular season debut in the season-opening 30–7 road victory over thePittsburgh Steelers, but was limited to nine snaps on special teams.[15] During Week 11 against theTampa Bay Buccaneers, Talanoa Hufanga suffered a knee injury in the third quarter and Brown had to replace him.[16] Brown finished the 27–14 victory with four tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and his first career interception on a pass attempt thrown byBaker Mayfield to wide receiverChris Godwin to seal the victory for the 49ers.[17]
On November 21, 2023, Brown was officially named the starting strong safety for the remainder of the season after Hufanga was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL.[18] During Week 12 against theSeattle Seahawks, Brown earned his first career start and recorded four tackles in the 35–13 road victory.[19] Two weeks later against the Seahawks, he tied his season-high of six combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass byDrew Lock to wide receiverD. K. Metcalf in the 28–16 victory.[20] During Week 16 against theBaltimore Ravens onMonday Night Football, Brown had five tackles before leaving the eventual 33–19 loss in the third quarter with a knee injury.[21] He subsequently remained inactive for the last two games (Weeks 17–18) of the regular season due to his injury.[22]
Brown finished his rookie season with 35 combined tackles (22 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and five starts.[23] He was also named to thePFWA All-Rookie Team and received an overall grade of 73.4 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2023.[24][25] The 49ers finished atop theNFC West with a 12-5 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs.[26] During the NFC Championship Game against theDetroit Lions, Brown had 10 tackles in the 34–31 comeback victory as the 49ers advanced toSuper Bowl LVIII.[27] In the Super Bowl against theKansas City Chiefs, he recorded 11 tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception off ofPatrick Mahomes during the 25–22 overtime loss.[28][29]
Brown entered the 2024 season as the 49ers' presumptive starting safety, but was benched in favor of rookieMalik Mustapha near the end of the season after struggling in multiple games.[30][31][32]
Brown finished his second professional season with 77 combined tackles (48 solo), six pass deflections, and an interception in 17 games and 13 starts.[33]
During Week 12 against theCarolina Panthers onMonday Night Football, Brown had five tackles, two pass deflections, and interceptedBryce Young twice in the 20–9 victory.[34] Brown was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.[35]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2023 | SF | 15 | 5 | 35 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | SF | 17 | 13 | 77 | 48 | 29 | 3 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | SF | 17 | 13 | 76 | 44 | 32 | 2 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 49 | 31 | 188 | 114 | 74 | 5 | 0.0 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2023 | SF | 2 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | SF | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 3 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |