His career has been up and down so far, but third-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown is beginning to play with more consistency. And he's making an impact on the San Francisco 49ers' injury-plagued defense. Coming off his best game as a pro, in which he had two interceptions against the Carolina Panthers, Brown is making his presence felt.
Many fans and media, myself included, were frustrated by Brown's play. He was missing too many tackles and wasn't helping the team in the run game. I believed rookie Marques Sigle, who is a solid tackler and strong in run defense, was the better option. The 49ers' coaches believed differently. And now it looks like their faith in Brown may be paying off.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area sat down with GM John Lynch this week to discuss the team's status. Among the topics they talked about was Brown. Lynch, a Hall of Fame safety, likes what he's seeing from his safety, particularly how he bounced back from losing his starting role.
"You know, early this season, I know Ji'Ayir was frustrated. He was injured throughout the offseason, had a surgery, came in, some other guys were playing well," Lynch said. "Siegel and [Jason] Pinnock were starting. Ji'Ayir handled it so well, embraced his special teams role in helping the team in any way, but also was eager to get back on that field and have an opportunity at safety. That finally came, and he's really taken advantage of it. The other night, I think, was just kind of the culmination representation of all the work he's been putting in, and I thought you saw a player coming out."
Brown not only picked off a couple of passes on Monday night, but he also made some big tackles, including one with fellow safety Malik Mustapha to stop a Panthers drive and force a field goal. Brown may have been the 49ers' best player on defense on Monday.
"When we watched him at Penn State, way back to Lackawanna Community College, he led the nation in interceptions at the junior college level at Lackawanna, and then at Penn State in 2021, led the nation in interceptions, and we saw it some his rookie year," Lynch added. "I think in the Super Bowl, he had an interception, and it's great to see him out there, and I thought he did two things. He made game-changing plays, but then he tackled extremely well, which to me is a game-changing play in space. Those are hard tackles, and he's just playing at a really high level. He's starting to see the game extremely well, and now the challenge, I tell Ji'Ayir is, let's do it again next week, and so you become a force to be reckoned with when you can replicate that game after game.
"Not that he's going to have two picks in every game, but can you be a force, something that they have to be aware of and account for you? Otherwise, you're going to cause problems. That's his next step, and excited to see him take on that challenge."
Brown played well as a rookie under Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks. But in his second season, under Nick Sorensen, Brown struggled. Then again, so did the rest of the defense.
But now under Robert Saleh, Brown is playing well again and looking like he may have turned a corner. The big test, as Lynch said, will be doing it each week. The 49ers hope Brown continues making game-changing plays. The defense needs that now more than ever.
Watch Maiocco's full interview with Lynch below.