Las Vegas Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Post-Super Bowl LVII edition
Las Vegas Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Post-Super Bowl LVII edition
70. Ji’Ayir Brown S Penn State
In the third round with the 70th overall pick, the Raiders grab another defensive back in safety Ji’Ayir Brown out of Penn State. Safety is a major position of need for Las Vegas as we saw a rotating cast of players line up they’re in Patrick Graham’s defense.
Brown has the classic safety build at 5-11 and 210 pounds and has solid speed with a 4.45 second forty. Draft buzz has brown ranked as their eighth overall safety ahead of guys we have mocked to the Raiders in the past like Ronnie Hickman and Jamie Robinson.
The former Nittany Lion is another member of the Bruce Feldman Freaks List for his quickness and incredible strength for a guy his size. Feldman wrote, ” In 2021, he made six interceptions, the most by a Penn State player in 15 years, to go with 73 tackles and two fumble recoveries. The 5-11, 208-pounder has elite quickness, clocking a 3.99 pro shuttle time this offseason. He also ran a 4.45 40 and bench pressed 370 to go with a 345-pound power clean”.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Brown is his ability as a ball hawk and how incredible his statistics have been over the last two years. In 26 games for Penn State, Brown has recorded around 150 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and an incredible 10 enter sections.
Throw in three fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles and you get a player that forces turnovers at an elite level and is an absolute box score stuffer.
The knocks on Brown are that he can be a bit too physical at times and we’ll draw a ton of penalties with his physical playing style but as we have said multiple times, we’d rather a player be more physical than conservative. His size can work against him at the point of attack but if he is lining up as a deep safety we’re covering a running back out of the backfield that is less of a concern.
Brown has a chance to be one of the better safeties in this year’s class and can be a great weapon for this rebuilding Raiders defense.