The Minnesota Vikings have nine picks going into the 2024 NFL Draft:
- First round, 11th overall
- Second round, 42nd overall
- Fourth round (from Detroit)
- Fourth round
- Fifth round (from Kansas City)
- Fifth round (from Cleveland)
- Sixth round (from Jacksonville)
- Sixth round (from Las Vegas)
- Seventh round (from Atlanta via Arizona)
To maximize these picks, the Vikings front office has a lot of homework to find who in this draft is a good fit for Minnesota.
One of the hottest names coming out of Mobile after the Senior Bowl was Louisville defensive back Jarvis Brownlee. In this exercise, we dive deeper into the film, in Mobile, and during his five-year college career to explore how he could fit as a Viking.
Managing Editor Tyler Forness also has a great scouting report on him below.
Ball Skills
Louisville’s Jarvis Brownlee Jr. stays in phase and disrupts the catch point. He’s had an incredible Senior Bowl week. pic.twitter.com/DpNQHhcTD3
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) February 1, 2024
Brownlee had 12 pass breakups and two interceptions in his breakout year, and first year as a Louisville Cardinal in 2022. His ball skills are pretty good, and this rep at the Senior Bowl was a great example.
Brownlee, as the post states, stays in phase with the receiver and keeps his eyes on the receiver throughout the route. Through the hand-fighting, you can see that when the receiver’s eyes and hands go up, Brownlee’s do as well, disrupting the receiver’s ability to catch the ball and ultimately winning the rep.
Athleticism
Jarvis Brownlee Jr running the route for the WR pic.twitter.com/7EQ0I409p1
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 31, 2024
Brownlee is a solid athlete, and that athleticism has a knack for showing up on tape when you least expect it.
In this rep, Georgia’s Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint beats Brownlee initially on a shifty inside release. Brownlee uses his recovery speed and athleticism to explode back into the route to not only get back in phase but beat Rosemy-Jacksaint to the spot and stop the quarterback from even attempting the pass.
Route/Play Recognition
— Saivion Mixson (@MixsonS_NFL) February 6, 2024
Other than his physicality, Brownlee’s recognition to react to a play and position himself around the ball also jumped off his film.
Here against USC in the Holiday Bowl, Brownlee keys in on the bubble action and was a hair away from coming away with a back-breaking interception early in the game.
You can see pre-snap how he recognizes the RPO action from quarterback Miller Moss and shoots the bubble immediately, zooming past the would-be block and making a play on the football.
Run Support
Louisville CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr dips his shoulder to avoid the block and then follows through on the ball carrier. pic.twitter.com/peaz6bgJQf
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) February 6, 2024
In run support, there are times when Brownlee’s physicality will get him in trouble, and he will overpursue an angle or lose contain on the edge, but he will be a solid contributor in the run game.
In the above clip, Brownlee reads run from the other side of the field and realizes a play can be made. He finds an angle, dips underneath the blocker and lays a significant hit on the ball-carrier that stops him in his tracks.
Man coverage
Jarvis Brownlee Jr presses the WR to the ground in 7 on 7s lol pic.twitter.com/SDck9Ro48x
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 1, 2024
Brownlee looks the most comfortable in man-to-man coverage, especially at the line of scrimmage. So it’s no surprise that he was one of the top performers in both one-on-ones and seven-on-sevens in Mobile.
In this seven-on-seven rep, Brownlee gets square with the receiver and bombards him with a flurry of aggressive jams at the line. The receiver ultimately couldn’t withstand the barrage, and his rep ended early as he lost his balance before getting an opportunity to get into his route.
Zone coverage
JARVIS BROWNLEE JR. WITH THE PICK!!
📺: @nflnetwork #GoCards x @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/pmMFJC130x
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) February 3, 2024
In zone coverage, Brownlee brings everything together: the athleticism, the play recognition and the physicality to make plays on the football.
On the above rep, Brownlee recognizes the vertical from the #2 receiver and immediately starts keying on the whereabouts of the #1. When the #1 receiver sees that Brownlee is all over the route (and that the ball was not already thrown), he decides to work the curl-flat area of the field to give Hartman a window to throw. Instead, Hartman throws an errant pass to the waiting arms of Brownlee, who then returns the interception for almost 30 yards.
How he fits in Minnesota
The Vikings have that nickel/third-safety role already accounted for with ironman Josh Metellus. However, Brownlee showed comfort playing outside and inside and looked comfortable covering tight ends and wide receivers.
That versatility leads me to believe that there is a possible place for him on this iteration of Minnesota despite his size concerns, especially with the questions at the cornerback spot. His physicality could lend him a spot on special teams early while he puts on weight and adapts to the speed of the NFL.
If he somehow falls to day three (highly unlikely), Minnesota shouldn’t hesitate to snatch him up with their fourth-round pick.
Every Jarvis Brownlee Jr. 1-on-1 from the Senior Bowl pic.twitter.com/XiZvjTtoXi
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 3, 2024
