A junior-college transfer who became a Rose Bowl Defensive MVP at Penn State, Ji'Ayir Brown has developed into one of San Francisco's most productive young safeties.
Ji'Ayir Brown took a winding path from Trenton, New Jersey through junior college before starring at Penn State, and San Francisco traded up to grab him in the third round. He has started for most of his four seasons and become a reliable playmaker on the back end.
Path to the league
Brown began his college career at Lackawanna College, where he was named Northeast JC Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, before transferring to Penn State. As a senior captain in 2022 he led the team with 74 tackles, added 4.5 sacks and four interceptions, and was named Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl. San Francisco traded up to select him with the 87th overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Career highlights
Brown made the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2023 after recording 35 tackles and two interceptions across 15 games. He took a step forward in 2024, starting 13 of 17 games and piling up 77 tackles. Through his first three seasons he totaled well over 150 tackles for the 49ers' secondary.
2025 season recap
Brown continued as a key piece of San Francisco's secondary in 2025, highlighted by an NFC Defensive Player of the Week performance in which he intercepted Bryce Young twice against Carolina. He finished his first three-plus seasons with 5 career interceptions, 16 pass deflections and a forced fumble.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Ji'Ayir Brown
- ESPN: Ji'Ayir Brown
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 49ers | 17 | 76 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2024 | 49ers | 17 | 77 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | 49ers | 15 | 35 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Safety
- Group
- defense
- College
- Penn State
- Hometown
- Trenton, NJ, USA
- Age
- 26
- Status
- active
