Cody Brown, DE-OLB, Connecticut

With guys like Larry English and Clay Matthews increasingly looking like late 1st Round picks, Cody Brown is a name we should all start getting more familiar with. He came into the Senior Bowl practices projected as a 3rd Round pick, but his solid performance likely catapulted him into the mid-2nd Round.

Cody made one of the most impressive plays in the pit this week: stutter-stepping, then bullrushing the hell out of OT Xavier Fulton. I hope someone puts that on YouTube; it was absolutely sick.

Brown's shown the speed to get around guys like Loadholt and the strength to bullrush more athletic OT's. I wouldn't mind seeing us trade down in the 2nd & take him.

Here's a good scouting report on Brown:

Positives: Excellent athlete. Uses his hands to rip off blocks from much bigger tackles. Very good off the edge. Able to get into the chest of his man to bull rush him into the quarterback. Will close on quarterbacks quickly and secure the tackle. Plays on the strong and weak sides, as well as a stand-up rusher at times. Shows potential to be an effective 3-4 rush linebacker. Should be an asset on special teams coverage units. Recognizes misdirection quickly.
Negatives: Lacks great bulk to hold up as an every-down end, and will likely switch to 3-4 rush linebacker in the pros. Can get moved out of the hole. A bit high and choppy in his backpedal, but he can get deep on zone blitzes. Needs to hustle and chase a bit more when plays are downfield or down the line. Quarterbacks and ballcarriers can sidestep him as he closes because he doesn't break down quickly enough to make the tackle.

I love that he's gotten better every year: he's gone from 4.5 sacks his sophomore year to 7.5 to 11.0 sacks this year. And for a guy who's projected to move back to linebacker, he's fared pretty well as a DE in the Senior Bowl practices - he made a few TFL's in the run game.

Definitely somebody to watch in the game & at the Combine.

Until then, here's a clip of Brown exhibiting some good leadership qualities (he's #50; #34 is RB Donald Brown, a guy a lot of mocks have us taking in the 2nd):

And here's a nice clip of Brown talking about his rush moves:

Eh, I want more picks. I don't like Brown enough to give up those.

It should be interesting to see how he runs at the Combine. He plays quick, but he may be only be a 4.7 guy.

Yeah, but a bit smaller.

What worries me is nfldraftscout's player comparison (Bruce Davis). I think Brown's stronger than Davis (he actually reminded me a little of James Harrison when I watched UConn's bowl game), but I could be wrong.

Chicopee John

@shepwrite said:
Fantastic stuff. Hey, if you like Cody Brown, you take him at 36 and don't risk losing him. I think slotting can become obsessive.
Yeah, I've seen a ton of mocks with us taking Donald Brown. But we are the Browns, so let's get both.

FWIW, both 'good kids' too. Both are VERY 'coachable' - Randy Edsall isn't exactly a day at the beach - and would play just about any role Mangini would ask.