Los Angeles Chargers get UDFA steal in CB Tony Brown

The Los Angeles Chargers got an undrafted free agent steal in former Alabama cornerback Tony Brown, a very fast and physical cornerback…

The Los Angeles Chargers added physicality and toughness to an already nasty defense with first-round pick Derwin James, a hard-hitting safety from Florida State.

As a matter of fact, the Chargers spent their top four selections in this year’s draft on defensive players, taking James in the first round, USC edge defender Uchenna Nwosu in the second, North Carolina State defensive tackle Justin Jones in the third, and West Virginia’s Kyzir White in the fourth.

Why did the Chargers invest so much to upgrade the defensive side of the ball when that was already an area of strength?

This Chargers team has a new identity, and they have stability and consistency at the quarterback position with Philip Rivers. They can afford to over-invest defensively to try and shut teams down, which Gus Bradley knows first-hand can result in a championship.

Someone else who knows about playing on a championship defense is undrafted rookie Tony Brown, a player I feel has a really good shot of making an impact on this Chargers roster.

Brown is not known for his ball skills at the cornerback position, but for his crazy pre-game ritual of warming up shirtless (no matter the weather conditions) and being an intimidating presence to the other team.

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When you look at Brown, it’s hard not to be intimidated.

In fact, he had my skin crawling when he was whistled back to the starting line at the NFL Scouting Combine for a false start, which was actually a great start. Brown knew he’d gotten off to a great start, and his reaction was an all-timer.

Despite running a blazing 4.34-second 40-yard dash with a great frame for the cornerback position at 6-feet, 200 pounds, Brown was undrafted because of a lack of ball production and perhaps more of a great physical skill set than a great football skill set.

But when you combine the addition of Brown with some of the others the Chargers have made (James, White) this offseason, I think there will be a place for him in the lineup.

This is a very fast, physical cornerback who can also excel on special teams. Send him on blitzes or match him up in the slot from time to time, and see if you can’t develop this kid into a full-time defensive player.

He’s a very good tackler in run support and can blow up screen plays with great reactive quickness. If he can learn the nuance of the cornerback position, he could be a steal.

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