Kerry Brown, S Minnesota: 2026 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Brown was a three-star recruit from Naples High School in Naples, Fla. in the class of 2023

Minnesota Golden Gophers redshirt sophomore Kerry Brown is one of the most impressive young safeties in college football. Brown punches above his weight class in the run game and displays budding instincts and anticipation in coverage from several alignments. Brown projects as a top 100 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.

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Kerry Brown, S Minnesota: 2026 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt sophomore strong safety from Naples, Fla.

Background: Brown was a three-star recruit from Naples High School in Naples, Fla. in the class of 2023. He was the No. 927 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 916 for On3.com. Brown was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He finished his high school career with 225 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries in three varsity seasons. As a senior, Brown totaled 76 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, two sacks, five passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He also returned a handful of punts and four kickoffs for 212 yards and a touchdown. His best season was his sophomore campaign when he made 82 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack, three interceptions, three passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Brown also returned nine kickoffs for 222 yards. He was a Southwest Florida Defensive Player of the Year finalist and earned Naples Daily News First Team All-Area honors. As a sophomore, Brown produced 67 tackles with seven tackles for loss and three sacks, four passes defensed, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

Injuries & Off-Field: Injured early and forced to exit 2024 USC game and missed the following UCLA game

Awards: 2024 Mid-Season Freshman All-American (The Athletic), 2024 Second Team All-American (Sports Info Solutions)

Overview: Brown filled a wide variety of roles for Minnesota last year, aligning in two-high and single-high looks, dropping down to play off-man coverage in the nickel, tricking quarterbacks as a robber, filling in as a quasi-linebacker in Cover 4, and operating in the box against 12-personnel. He is an undersized safety with limited height and mass and is a little high-hipped, but his arms appear long enough to meet the league’s preferred thresholds. Brown showed impressive vision, football IQ, and instincts for a first-year starter. He reads through wide receiver stacks and route combinations quickly, hinting at long-term upside if handed a regular dose of off-man snaps over the slot. Brown lacks the twitch to mirror some receivers in man coverage and deals with a slight hitch that allows separation when he gathers to drive on digs and outs. Larger receivers sometimes stole a step by bumping Brown to forcibly create separation. However, the redshirt sophomore also posted reps where he cleanly attached to the receiver at the stem’s peak and remained attached throughout the rest of the play. Brown’s anticipation and trigger make up for his lack of elite physical gifts in man coverage. He shouldn’t be used in press coverage. Brown shades shallow and intermediate throwing lanes, deterring throws or baiting quarterbacks into poor decisions. The Florida native reads the quarterback’s eyes and flashes his closing speed to undercut routes breaking toward the sideline. He comes with some concerns that aren’t uncommon for a one-year starter. Brown bites on eye candy in the backfield and has lapses in deep zone coverage, especially when playing the single-high role in Cover 3, that lead to him misplaying post routes. He lacks the range to continue filling the single-high role at the next level. When lined up closer to the box or over the slot, he’ll drive on slants and meet the receiver at the catch point with good pop. Brown’s anticipation of quick game throws and schemed touches helps him blow up slants and shallow plays developing toward the perimeter, like screens and sweeps. He recognizes pre-snap motion and identifies likely outcomes to get a head start on these plays. The former three-star recruit shows no fear triggering downhill to fit the run or blow up schemed touches. His play strength needs to improve to support his play style and aggression. Even though he primes and fires his hands to establish leverage on blocks, he struggles to stack and separate from larger players. Despite taking some steep angles, Brown is above average at fitting the run and makes tackles on significantly larger running backs. He misses some tackles because he ducks his head or fails to wrap up.

Overall, Brown has the body of a free safety, but his downhill aggression and playstyle are much more like a strong safety, making projecting his ideal role a little difficult. He needs to become more disciplined when operating in deep zones but possesses the instincts and toughness to compete for starting snaps early in his career.

Role & Scheme Fit: Free safety operating in the slot and near the box

Round Grade: Third Round

Size: 5'10", 190 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 03-06-25