June 06, 2023
As we do every offseason, we'll be comparing each of the Philadelphia Eagles' rookies to current or former NFL players. Today we'll try to find a comp for third-round safety Sydney Brown.
Previous player comp profiles
Jalen Carter | Nolan Smith | Tyler Steen
Brown is undersized, at least in terms of height, but he is a high-level athlete.
Brown was also a highly productive player for Illinois in 2022, making 60 tackles, 6 INTs (including a pick-six), a forced fumble, and a fumble return for a TD. He makes plays, and he's a big hitter:
I've seen a number of interesting comps for Brown, including the Cardinals' Budda Baker and the 49ers' Talanoa Hufanga, but the player that he reminds me of is Donte Whitner, who formerly played for the Bills, 49ers, Browns, and Washington.
Like Brown, Whitner was a short safety with some heft who displayed impressive speed, explosiveness, and strength at the Combine:
| Measurable | Sydney Brown | Donte Whitner |
| Height | 5'10 | 5'10 |
| Weight | 211 | 204 |
| 40 time | 4.47 | 4.40 |
| Vertical jump | 40 1/2" | 40" |
| Broad jump | 130" | 132" |
| Bench press | 23 | 18 |
Also like Brown, Whitner was always willing to throw his body around, and became known around the NFL as an enforcer in the secondary. To be determined if Brown can make receivers wary of going over the middle like Whitner did (probably not in today's rule-changed NFL), but Brown has similar size/explosiveness measurables, and they both bring energy and physicality to the safety position.
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