Eagles Add Athletic LB Jatavis Brown

The Eagles started hunting for bargains in the second wave of free agency Saturday by signing Jatavis Brown to a one-year deal. A modern, hybrid linebacker with starting experience during his stay with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers,

Brown, 26, fits the mold of what the Eagles are looking for as a young player coming off his rookie deal after being chosen by the Chargers in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

A bit undersized at 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, Brown took a step back in the 2019 season with the Chargers, however, 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 with the Chargers, topping out at 97 tackles in 2018, a number which was second on the team.

SI.com reached out to an AFC personnel source to get a quick thumbnail on Brown as a player. His strength is his athleticism having once run a 4.47 at a regional combine. "Safety speed with a linebacker's DNA. Likes to hit but he's undersized," the source texted.

Brown's agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed the deal and steered the University of Arkon product into a good opportunity with the Eagles, who have few proven options at LB after deciding to move on from veterans Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill, the latter of which signed with the Miami Dolphins earlier this week.

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, former CFL star Alex Singleton, and an in-season trade pickup from 2019, Duke Riley.

Other bodies will also be added and LB remains perhaps the most uncertain position on the Eagles.

For now pencil in Brown as a starter in the base defense with Gerry and either Edwards or Riley with Brown having the leg up on being the second nickel LB next to Gerry.

Brown will actually offer position coach Ken Flajole the most experience with 23 starts under his belt for the Chargers. As far as playmaking ability, Brown has 14 tackles for loss in his four-year NFL career with 12 passes defended, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 4.5 sacks.

At Akron, the Florida native was the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year after an 11.5 sack season as a senior. Brown was also First-Team All-MAC for three consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2015 and a high-school teammate of Eagles' CB Cre'Von LeBlanc.

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

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