Trenton’s Brown defies odds
Safety becomes 6th player born in city to reach NFL after 49ers select him in 3rd round
Few people could have guessed that a kid from Trenton who initially went to junior college would one day be in the NFL.
Ji’Ayir Brown has defied the odds and then some.
The San Francisco 49ers selected the former Trenton High star with the 87th overall pick (third round) in the NFL draft Friday night. That was no shock given where mock drafts pegged Brown after a stellar senior season at Penn State, but his ascension from high school was almost unprecedented.
“I always knew I had the talent,” Brown told San Francisco media Friday night. “I just didn’t know the path that God had set for me.
“I knew I was going to be in this NFL draft, I knew I was going to be drafted. I didn’t know when, I didn’t know where, but I knew I had the talent and I was more than capable of playing in the NFL.”
Brown is the sixth player born in Trenton to reach the NFL in the last decade and the first since Nottingham High graduate Saquon Hampton in 2019. But none of them was drafted this high.
One of the most famous NFL players from Trenton, of course, was longtime Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent, who attended Pennsbury High and was a first-round pick in 1992.
“This last week has been amazing,” said Brown, who estimated he had about 60 or 70 people at his New Jersey home when he got the call from San Francisco.
“I’ve really been anticipating this moment, and just leading up to today I told the family and everything, just come out and support and God is going to handle the rest. We ended up where we’re supposed to be.”
A 5-foot-11, 203-pound safety, Brown was lightly recruited coming out of high school and first attended Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A strong two years there earned him a spot at Penn State, where he was a backup in 2020 and then started every game in 2021 and 2022.
Brown became known for his ball-hawking skills in a Power Five conference, racking up 10 interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries over the past two seasons. He was a team captain as a senior and was named Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl in January.
“He’s a baller,” Niners general manager John Lynch told San Francisco media. “I think he’s got the components of what make up a Niner. We had consensus of coaches to scouts. It was all around the building.
“He really solidified that with his tape. But then he came here on a 30 visit and he’s just got this infectious personality.”
NFL teams are permitted to host up to 30 prospects before the draft, and Brown felt an instant connection with the Niners.
“The visit went great,” Brown said. “I talked to everybody around the facility. It really felt like home. It gave me a similar version to how Penn State felt — just a family-oriented environment.
“I had a great visit in San Fran, and I knew from the time I left the visit that was the best
visit I’ve been on, and I knew that’s where I belonged at.”
The Niners were initially supposed to make their first pick of the draft at No. 99, but as the third round unfolded they were unwilling to risk seeing another team take Brown.
They traded the Vikings pick No. 102, 164 and 222 to move up to No. 87.
“Everybody in the building wanted that guy,” Lynch said.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said they felt Brown could been a secondround pick and an immediate starter on another team. The Niners’ starting safeties are currently Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson Sr., but they also play packages with three safeties.
Brown’s rookie upside appears high.
“We felt like we could add to the depth of that position, and Ji’Ayir can come in and play special teams right away and learn the safety position,” said Lynch, a Hall of Fame safety. “He’s got good versatility to his game and I think he’ll be a great complement to those guys.”
Brown had humble beginnings at Trenton while playing four years of varsity sports. He lined up at virtually every position in football and was a Mercer County standout in basketball as well, but he had no Division I offers upon graduating.
Brown talked about his work ethic and his desire to sacrifice it all for San Francisco in pursuit of a championship, as the Niners have been in three NFC championship
games and one Super Bowl under Shanahan since 2019.
Having already experienced the West Coast while training for three months at Proactive Sports Performance in California, Brown is eager to get back into the sun and go to work.
“It was a great experience over there,” he said. “It was definitely a lifestyle I can get used to and I can learn to love.”
Two Penn State teammates who were All-Big Ten third-team selections last year were taken later in the second round with back-to-back picks Friday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to the 61st spot and selected tight end Brenton Strange immediately before the Houston Texans took center Juice Scruggs with the 62nd pick.
The 6-4, 253-pound Strange caught 32 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns last year for Penn State. He’ll join veteran tight end Evan Engram with the Jaguars.
The 6-3, 301-pound Scruggs rebounded from injuries suffered in a serious car crash early in his college career to become a two-year starter, first at guard and then at center last season.
With three selections in the second round, this marks the first time in school history that Penn State has had three straight years with at least three players taken in the first two rounds.