Jatavis Brown Sees Eagles as 'Good Fit'
Of all the recent acquisitions by the Philadelphia Eagles, Jatavis Brown might be the biggest unknown to the local fanbase.
A former starter with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Brown, 26, fit the template of what Howie Roseman was looking for this offseason - a player coming off his rookie deal who can run.
Brown was maybe the fastest LB coming out in the 2016 draft when he was a fifth-round selection out of Akron. At 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, the undersized Brown was fast for a safety, never mind a linebacker, clocking in the 4.4s anytime the stopwatch was around him.
“Increasing team speed was a priority for us, defensively, and we think (Brown) does that,” Roseman, the Eagles' general manager, said on a conference call last week.
In what has been a theme in Roseman’s second stint atop the Eagles’ personnel department Philadelphia keeps tabs on players they had an interest in during the draft process.
Roseman admitted Philadelphia did extensive work on Brown in 2016 so the pro personnel department kept an asterisk next to the Belle Glade, Fla., native, who went to high school with Eagles cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc.
“Obviously, he's got the athletic tools, explosive tools in his body, has started, has played on special teams, so we'll add him to the mix of competing at (the linebacker) spot,” Roseman said. “He knows that it's going to be based on what we see and what we do there.”
In other words, unlike more high-profile defensive additions like Darius Slay, Javon Hargrave and even Nickell-Robey Coleman, Brown was given no assurances other than the ability to compete at a position where Philadelphia has a significant need.
"I think it's a good fit for me and I'm excited to be there,” Brown said. “The fans are going to see somebody who enjoys going out there and competing."
With the Chargers, Brown took a step back in the 2019 season while dealing with a balky ankle, starting only one game and amassing just 10 tackles.
Previously he had pitched in as a starter at both the middle and weakside LB position at times, topping out at 97 tackles in 2018, a number which was second on the team.
"I think my career with the Chargers was very positive other than the few injuries I had," said Brown.
Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, steered him in a good direction with the Eagles, who have few proven options at LB after deciding to move on from veterans Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill.
Right now, Nate Gerry is penciled in as one of the Eagles' two three-down LBs with other options being second-year player T.J. Edwards, an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2019, an in-season trade pickup from 2019, Duke Riley, and former CFL star Alex Singleton.
As Roseman intimated it’s going to be a true competition at the position and one issue for Brown could be the COVID-19 pandemic which is likely to eliminate any kind of on-field activity in the spring.
Brown, however, insisted that would not be a problem.
"I consider myself a smart guy when it comes to football," said Brown. "I think I'm a student of the game so I don't think I'll have a problem learning the system."
The Eagles have struck out in recent years when trying to find cost-effective fits at LB with names like Corey Nelson, L.J. Fort, and Zach Brown failing to gain a foothold.
With Brown, though, the floor should be as a key contributor on all of Dave Fipp’s special-teams coverage units due to his speed.
“Whatever the Eagles want me to do, I’ll do,” said Brown. "... I'm going to learn the defense and try to play my best football. I feel like this is a good fit for me.”
John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com. You can listen to John every day at 4 ET on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey and reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
