NFL Draft Results: Eagles pick Sydney Brown at No. 66

With the 66th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select ... Sydney Brown, safety, Illinois.

Brown was a popular target for Philly in the Day 2 NFL mock draft roundup we published earlier today.

The 23-year-old Brown comes to the Eagles with a chance to compete for a role on defense in addition to playing on special teams. Philly lost both of their 2022 starting safeties — C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps — in free agency. And they didn’t exactly replace them with any sure-fire options. They did sign veterans Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans to one-year deals. The Eagles also still have Reed Blankenship (who could potentially start), K’Von Wallace, and Andre Chachere on the roster.

Here’s a scouting report via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

A physical safety who is limited by a lack of fluidity in space. Brown has straight-line speed and is very effective mapping his transit to the ball-carrier near the line of scrimmage. However, his missed tackles are concerning considering the position he plays. He competes hard in man coverage, using everything at his disposal to prevent tight ends from making plays, but above average pass-catchers could be too much for him to handle as a pro. Brown will need to prove he can win in the box and shine on special teams to stick around in the league.

College stats via Sports Reference (six interceptions last year is pretty nice):

Spider graph (check out that athleticism):

Highlights:

Grade the pick

Remaining Eagles draft picks

1 (10) - DT Jalen Carter

1 (30) - DE Nolan Smith

3 (65) - OL Tyler Steen

3 (66) - S Sydney Brown

6 (188)

7 (219)

7 (230)

7 (248)

Remaining Eagles needs

Running back

Linebacker

Cornerback

Tight end

Punter

Odds

DraftKings Sportsbook