2023
The San Francisco 49ers selected Brown in the third round (87th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. [11] The 49ers orchestrated a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in order to secure their ability to draft Brown by trading their third- (102nd overall), fifth- (164th overall), and seventh-round (222nd overall) picks to the Vikings in return for their third-round (87th overall) pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was the fourth safety selected in 2023.
On May 13, 2023, the San Francisco 49ers signed Brown to a four–year, $5.39 million rookie contract that includes a signing bonus of $924,224. [12]
Throughout training camp, he competed for the role as the starting free safety against veteran Tashaun Gipson under defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. [13] Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart, behind starting safeties Tashaun Gipson and Talanoa Hufanga. [14]
On September 10, 2023, Brown made his professional regular season debut in the San Francisco 49ers' season-opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was limited to nine snaps on special teams during their 30–7 victory. On November 19, 2023, Brown made four combined tackles (two solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and made his first career interception on a pass attempt thrown by Baker Mayfield to wide receiver Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter of a 27–14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He entered the game in the third quarter, replacing Talanoa Hufanga after he injured his knee. [15] On November 21, 2023, Brown was officially named the starting strong safety for the remainder of the season after Talanoa Hufanga was placed on injured reserve due to a torn ACL. In Week 12, he earned his first career start and recorded four combined tackles (one solo) during a 35–13 victory at the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 14, Brown tied his season-high of six combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Drew Lock to wide receiver D. K. Metcalf as the 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–16. [16] On December 25, 2023, Brown made five combined tackles (three solo) before exiting in the third quarter of a 19–33 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football after injuring his knee. He subsequently remained inactive for the last two games (Weeks 17–18) of the season due to his knee injury. [17] He finished his rookie season with a total of 35 combined tackles (22 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and five starts. [18] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. [19] He received an overall grade of 73.4 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2023. [20]
Brown recorded an interception off of Patrick Mahomes during Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, although San Francisco would go on to fall short, 25–22 in overtime. [21] In addition, he recorded 11 total tackles in the game. [22]
