Eagles training camp: Sydney Brown rewarded for fast play in impressive preseason debut

BALTIMORE — There’s an open starting safety spot on the Philadelphia Eagles. Sydney Brown made an early statement why he deserves the job. 

Just don’t tell that to the Eagles’ third-round rookie. 

“I’m still improving. I haven’t done anything yet,” Brown said. “I just gotta be part of that standard, just keep chomping at it. I gotta be the best version of myself every single day.”

Whether Brown has emerged from the second team on the depth chart will be answered over the course of the preseason, but he had a strong debut in Philadelphia. Brown led the Eagles with nine tackles in the preseason opener, six of which were on designed run plays. On those designed runs, 35.3% of them Brown faced resulted in a tackle.

Brown has been criticized throughout training camp for playing fast, going at full throttle and allowing himself to overrun a play and be exposed to miss a tackle. His style worked in his debut, showcasing there’s a method to the madness. 

“I like to take my shot,” Brown said. “I always play fast. I’m trying to process things mentally as fast as I can. If you think a minute before you play and miss that minute, you’re going to miss that opportunity. 

“I try to pull the trigger on the gun and leave no regret and just move on to the next play. If something doesn’t go my way, I just move on to the next play and the next time.” 

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t even target Brown in coverage, as Tyler Huntley refused to throw his way — knowing what the potential end result would be. Brown’s range stood out in the opener, along with his closing speed before he executed the tackle. 

Brown is still in a battle with K’Von Wallace and Terrell Edmunds for the starting safety job next to Reed Blankenship. He may have closed the gap on the two. 

“I’m kind of curious how it is when the real guns start firing,” Brown said. “The goal is to contribute whenever I can, to be productive, to help this team win games.”