New York Jets: Meet CB Curtis Brown

Nov 24, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back

Curtis Brown

(31) before the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

As we reported yesterday, the Jets made a signing at a position of need, signing cornerback Curtis Brown, previously of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If you were like me at all, I know when I saw the news come across that the Jets had signed Brown, my first reaction was “Who?”. I never heard of this guy before, and I am sure many of you haven’t heard of him either. So I thought I would bring you a little bit of background, so we could meet the newest member of the New York Jets, cornerback Curtis Brown.

Next: High School and College

May 21, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs Curtis Brown (31) and

Josh Victorian

(35) and

Troy Polamalu

(43) participate in drills during organized team activities at the UPMC Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Curtis Brown played his high school football in Gilmer, Texas. Brown starred on both sides of the ball, excelling at both CB and WR. As a five-star recruiting prospect around most of the recruiting websites, Brown decided to play his college football for the University of Texas.

Here are his stats from Texas:

Defense & Fumbles

What sticks out to me is that Brown is not a huge playmaker. Let me clarify, when he made a big play, it was a big one. He picked off two passes in college, and never returned one for less than 74 yards. That is an electric player with the ball in his hands. However, Brown didn’t have the ball in his hands that often. In 52 games, he only picked off two passes. Obviously the Jets need a guy that can make a play on the ball a bit more often.

Next: NFL Combine

Feb 25, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back

Brock Vereen

catches a pass during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Curtis Brown put in a good showing at the NFL Combine. Head over to the NFL website and take a look at the video of his workout here. Here are the important facts:

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Brown measures in at 6’0″ and 185 pounds. At the Combine, he ran a very worthy 4.53 in the forty yard dash. He also was a top performer in other position appropriate drills such as the 3 cone drill (6.59 seconds), the 20 yard shuttle (four seconds), and the 60 yard shuttle (11 seconds). Brown also showed a great deal of explosiveness, leading the event with a 128 inch broad jump as well.

This all led to Brown being chosen in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the 95th pick overall.

Next: Analysis

Take a look at Brown’s draft profile, courtesy of Pro Football Weekly:

Here are Brown’s strengths and weaknesses from his NFL draft profile:

STRENGTHS Brown has good length and excellent speed. Explosive in transition and can stick with shifty receivers in man coverage. Confident kid that can jump underneath routes in zone coverage. Possesses very good ball skills and can cover taller receivers in jump ball situations. Effective in press coverage.

WEAKNESSES Peeks in the backfield at times and can be burned by ball fakes. Lacks bulk and struggles to disengage from receivers in run support. Does not show the ability to break down ball carriers in space and is a bit of an arm tackler. Not a playmaker despite having good ball skills.

Curtis Brown will be here to compete when camp opens. If he is healthy, he will get a chance to be part of the Jets depth chart. Is he starter material? It’s hard to say from this limited sampling, but the more guys that the Jets can have with talent at the position, the better.

Next: Chris Owusu's Jets Future

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