PFF scouting report: Jatavis Brown, LB, Akron

Below is the PFF draft profile for Akron's Jatavis Brown, which incorporates PFF’s college grades and scouting intel from our team of analysts. To see all of PFF’s 2016 scouting reports, click here.

Position fit:

Off-the-ball linebacker; 721 of his 830 snaps in 2015 came at various spots at linebacker.

Stat to know:

Fourth-highest coverage grade amongst all draft-eligible linebackers in 2015.

What he does best:

• Great athlete who wowed scouts with a 4.47 40-yard dash at the regional combine, showing off the speed that let him chase down ball-carriers in college.

• Can be moved around, seeing 95 snaps in the slot in 2015, up from just 20 in 2014.

• Overall grade increased from +11.7 in 2014 to +41.7 in 2015 (0.0 is considered average), with big jumps in coverage and as a pass-rusher.

• Intriguing option as a blitzer, racking up 15 sacks, 12 hits, and 22 hurries on 144 pass-rushing snaps in 2015.

• One of the best performers in the Senior Bowl game, grading positively against the run and in coverage.

• Committed just two penalties in 1,629 snaps over the past two seasons.

Biggest concerns:

• Needs to improve as a tackler; 25 missed tackles from the 192 he attempted over the past two seasons.

• At 5-feet-11-inches and 217 pounds, there are concerns about his size; will need to improve at getting off blocks at the second level in the NFL, where he'll face a tougher standard of competition.

• Run-defense grade essentially just came from one game in the regular season. Graded at +4.9 against Miami (Ohio), and -0.7 in the other 11 games.

• -0.8 run-defense grade and +0.0 coverage grade in 292 snaps against Power-5 opponents over the past two seasons. 

Bottom line: ‘

You can make the case that Brown is a better athlete than he is a football player at this point, with a lot of his best work coming against lower competition. That being said, when you look at his overall performance, and how he was able to contribute as a blitzer, combined with the athleticism he has shown, he's an intriguing option for teams looking for a linebacker in the draft.