It’s not often that Kyle Shanahan goes at length to praise a player on the San Francisco 49ers. But when he does, you know he’s being genuine and sincere.
At his press conference on Wednesday, Shanahan bestowed heavy praise upon one 49ers starter for his recent impressive performances. That player is Ji’Ayir Brown.
Kyle Shanahan sounds off on Ji’Ayir Brown
“Tig’s been awesome. When he first started over starting here, he replaced Huf,” Shanahan said. “And then Tig played at a really high level all the way to the Super Bowl and into the next year. He was in and out a little bit when Huf came back. But this offseason, went through a lot of rehab stuff, missed some time with camp, missed some time in the offseason, gave guys other opportunities, which had him start off not in a safety role, which I can’t tell you guys about how well he handled that.
“He really became a very good player on special teams, which is how he started out. He was unbelievable in our big nickel role and really just with how he was handled both of those roles. We wanted to make sure we gave him an opportunity back at safety before Malik [Mustapha] came back. And when we did, he did well in that role and has kept the job and is getting better and better each week.”
Brown looks like he’s finally settling in as a starter, especially after his two-interception performance against Carolina. He looks like he belongs, which is the first time he has since his rookie season.
2024 was a forgettable one for him. He was a liability for the 49ers’ defense. Now, he’s turned into more of their better players.
“I think stringing together, whatever these weeks are, six weeks, maybe more, he’s been starting, you can just see him getting more consistent, getting more confident doing his job great, knowing when to cheat his job and take some of the tips and knowing when to make some educated guesses and stuff. That’s the way you make plays out there by doing that stuff.”
It’ll be tremendous if Brown can continue this high level of play. However, you have to wonder if it’s because the 49ers have faced low-level opponents.
In any case, Brown can’t let his foot off the gas pedal for a second. He must continue to prove why the 49ers are correct in starting him
“(He) can’t get carried away with it though,” said Shanahan, “because that’s the way you give plays to other team, and I think he’s found a really good balance at that each week.”
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