2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jonathan Brown

Career Recap: Brown entered the starting lineup for the Illini as a sophomore in 2011 and became an immediate playmaker. He flew around the field and consistently generated splash plays. Brown had 108 tackles, 20.5 tackles for a loss, six sacks, four passes broken up, a forced fumble and an interception. He was tied for eighth in college football in tackles for a loss. Brown played well against Wisconsin and stepped up against Illinois’ better competition. He had 31 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in backup role as a freshman.



2012 Season Outlook: Illinois needs Brown to play like he did last year if not improve as a junior. Brown made some plays off of the disruption caused by defensive end Whitney Mercilus. Brown won’t have that luxury this season with Mercilus in the NFL.

At the same time, Brown could be even better in 2012 having gained a year of experience. He has a lot of physical talent and upside, so there is no reason to think that he can’t be better as a junior.

Skill-Set Summary: Many pro prospects who have come out of Illinois in recent years have been fantastic athletes and Brown definitely fits the mold. While Ron Zook couldn’t turn the Illini into a Big Ten powerhouse, he recruited a lot of elite athletes to Champaign. Vontae Davis, Arrelious Benn, A.J. Jenkins, Rashard Mendenhall and Mikel Leshoure all entered the NFL in recent years from Illinois. Like those players, Brown has an NFL skill set.

Brown has blazing sideline-to-sideline speed. His first step is excellent, and it allows him to fire behind the line of scrimmage before the blockers are in position to pick him up.

It would be ideal if Brown added weight, but right now, he would meet the minimum. Brown plays well in space and has the potential to be an excellent pass-defender. He has the speed and athleticism to matchup with tight ends and running backs. Brown is extremely dangerous as a blitzer, so he would be an asset rushing off the edge.

Given his body type, Brown looks like a 4-3 outside linebacker. He probably doesn’t have the size to fit in a 3-4 defense as an inside or outside linebacker. A pro comparison for Brown would be Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Zach Brown or Tampa Bay outside linebacker Lavonte David. Both were speedy playmakers in college.

Jonathan Brown might not be a little slower than Zach Brown, but the Illinois product is more instinctive. Jonathan Brown has a special combination of speed and instincts while being an elite athlete. He definitely has the physical talent to be a starter in the NFL.



2013 Draft Expectations: Right now, Brown looks like a second-day pick. If his production stays steady, he could be a second-rounder. Brown could warrant some first-round consideration if he has massive season or two.

2013 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2013 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Oday Aboushi, OT, Virginia Keenan Allen, WR, California David Amerson, CB, N.C. State Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State Matt Barkley, QB, USC Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina Jon Bostic, ILB, Florida Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee Arthur Brown, OLB, Kansas State Jonathan Brown, DE/OLB, Illinois Michael Buchanan, DE, Illinois Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida International Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame Matt Elam, S, Florida Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego State Chris Faulk, OT, LSU Joseph Fauria, TE, UCLA Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA Travis Frederick, G, Wisconsin William Gholston, DE, Michigan State Mike Gillislee, RB, Florida Mike Glennon, QB, N.C. State Khaseem Greene, OLB, Rutgers Johnathon Hankins, NT, Ohio State Khaled Holmes, C, USC DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee Margus Hunt, DE/DT, SMU Alex Hurst, OT, LSU Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma Brandon Jenkins, DE/OLB, Florida State Jelani Jenkins, OLB, Florida John Jenkins, NT, Georgia Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma Nico Johnson, ILB, Alabama Barrett Jones, C/G/OT, Alabama Datone Jones, DE, UCLA Jarvis Jones, DE/OLB, Georgia Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina Robert Lester, S, Alabama Kyle Long, G/OT, Oregon Star Lotulelei, NT, Utah E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State Cameron Marshall, RB, Arizona State Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M T.J. McDonald, S, USC Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama Barkevious Mingo, DE/OLB, LSU Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse Xavier Nixon, OT, Florida Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia Alex Okafor, DE, Texas Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech Sean Porter, DE/OLB, Texas A&M Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse Bacarri Rambo, S, Georgia Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State Kevin Reddick, ILB, North Carolina Jordan Reed, TE, Florida Eric Reid, S, LSU Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri Da'Rick Rogers, WR, Tennessee Tech Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers Brian Schwenke, C, California Kawann Short, DT, Purdue Dion Sims, TE, Michigan State Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia Baker Steinkuhler, DT, Nebraska Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford Manti Te'o, ILB, Notre Dame Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford Dallas Thomas, G/OT, Tennessee Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin Larry Warford, G, Kentucky Chance Warmack, G, Alabama Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State Jesse Williams, NT, Alabama Michael Williams, TE, Alabama Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor Marquess Wilson, WR, Washington State Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas Robert Woods, WR, USC Tom Wort, ILB, Oklahoma

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