Louisville CB Jarvis Brownlee's NFL draft stock rising. Where he likely will be selected
Former Louisville cornerback Jarvis Brownlee isn’t sure if he’s going to cry or jump in the pool when he hears his name called in the NFL draft in April.
Emphasis on when, not if.
That same confidence was evident when Brownlee declared that Louisville’s secondary could be one of the nation's best prior to the 2023 season. Most recently, Brownlee called himself the top cornerback in the upcoming draft as an iced-out "2" chain dangled from his neck. Brownlee’s confidence and bold personality is innate for a Miami native, he said, but is cultivated by being an underdog.
“As a kid, I just always felt doubted, so that just made me go 10 times harder at everything I do,” he said after U of L’s pro day on Tuesday. “Just all the adversity I went through in my childhood and in my career, that keeps me going. Knowing that I've got a second chance at life to make something great, it’s awesome.”
Brownlee was a three-star prospect from Miami Carol City High School and started in 15 of 20 games played at Florida State before transferring to Louisville. He was a two-year starter for the Cardinals and part of a strong 1-2 punch with fellow corner Quincy Riley in the secondary. Despite struggling with a foot injury that kept him out of three games last season, the Florida native totaled 30 tackles, six pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery.
After his final season at Louisville, Brownlee earned an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the NFL combine, where he flourished. Brownlee picked off former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman in the Senior Bowl and was given a 6.13 prospect grade at the combine. Brownlee was deemed a good NFL backup with the potential to develop into a starter.
One of the bigger rewards for Brownlee's rising stock came via social media.
“I felt famous once Lamar (Jackson) followed me back,” he said, smiling, about the Louisville football icon and fellow Floridian.
At one point, Drafttek had Brownlee as the 30th-best draft-eligible cornerback. After the Senior Bowl, combine and other players including Riley opting to stay in school, Brownlee is up to the 10th-best corner. Bleacher Report has him as the 22nd-best corner projected to go in the seventh round. NFL draft analyst Matt Miller projected Brownlee to be the second Cardinal taken in the draft behind wide receiver Jamari Thrash (111 th) with the 154th overall pick in the fifth round to the Los Angeles Rams.
“He could be toward the bottom of the second round,” ESPN front-office insider Mike Tannenbaum said of Brownlee. “He could certainly be a second-day pick.”
When and where he’s picked isn’t that important to Brownlee. He just wants a shot to play in the NFL.
“I don't think the politics really matter,” he said of the NFL mock drafts. “It's for me to just keep my head on straight and focus on the main goal. That's to show these scouts what I'm about ... showing that I'm prepared and I'm ready for that next big level.”
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2024 NFL Draft: Corner Jarvis Brownlee continues moving up boards
