Eagles' Sydney Brown Talks Growth: Didn’t 'Understand a Damn Thing!’

How has Philadelphia Eagles' safety Sydney Brown worked his way up the depth chart since getting drafted in the third round?

Philadelphia Eagles rookie safety Sydney Brown has been evolving his game since getting drafted and is pumped for the regular season.

In college, Brown’s physicality in the Illinois secondary was enough to get him selected by Philly in the third round. Now that the safety’s first NFL training camp and preseason have come to a close, he shared some of his biggest takeaways after Thursday's preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

“I walked into rookie minicamp not understanding a damn thing about this defense,” Brown said. “Now, I’m understanding the different concepts and what my 1/11th is on the field.”

The jump from college to the pros can be tricky, but arguably no Eagles rookie has embraced these opportunities more than Brown.

“These opportunities are earned, not given. I didn’t expect anything to be given to me,” Brown said. “It’s just taking each day and knowing that I gotta grind and keep going. I knew there was going to be a big jump from college to the pros. But I feel comfortable out there. It’s a lot of fun.”

Thanks to his consistent improvement in practice and preseason games, Brown has steadily moved his way up the depth chart, going from third-string player to getting some reps on first team with Philly’s Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate and No. 9 overall pick, Jalen Carter.

“It was a lot to learn as a [second stringer]. You watch the older guys as they go through the reps,” Brown said. “The nice thing towards the end of camp was being put in that [starting] position and getting used to playing with different guys and seeing how they communicate. There’s a lot of pre-snap communication you gotta give before the football is snapped.”

Despite all of the intricacies of the reigning NFC Champion’s defense, Brown isn’t shying away from any potential opportunities that could come his way with the Eagles this season as the team hopes to avenge last season's Super Bowl loss.

“You have to work no matter what—I’m not close to where I want to be," he said. "I’m just looking forward to the future and what lies ahead … If my name is called, I want to be ready.”

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