Colts 2016 player preview: Cornerback Jalil Brown

The Indianapolis Colts will report to training camp on July 26 with their 90-man roster, which will be cut down to 53 players by the end of the preseason.  To pass the time until camp, we're taking a look at every player on the Colts' 90-man roster.  Today, we're looking at cornerback Jalil Brown.

Who is he?

Jalil Brown began his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011 as a fourth round draft pick out of Colorado, and he spent the first two years of his career in Kansas City.  He was waived following the final roster cuts in 2013, only to be signed by the Colts a month and a half later.  The Colts waived him later in that same season and he was claimed by the Miami Dolphins, who later waived him as part of roster cutdowns in 2014.  The Colts opted to bring him back in September of that year, then he was waived in early November, and then he was signed again in late November.  In 2015, Brown made the roster out of training camp after having as good of a camp as anyone, and he actually made four starts for the Colts at cornerback before being placed on season-ending injured reserve in mid-October.  A few days later the Colts released him from IR, and then once healthy again the Colts signed him in December.  In his career, Jalil Brown has played in 47 games and started six of them, recording 60 tackles, six passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

What is his role?

Last year, Jalil Brown certainly earned his roster spot in training camp with an incredibly impressive performance, sliding in as the number five corner behind Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler, and D'Joun Smith.  Injuries thrust him into the starting role and he struggled a bit there, but he still proved to be a good depth cornerback.  Entering the 2016 season, the situation looks a bit similar -€” if you substitute Greg Toler for Patrick Robinson, the first four look to be the same.  After the top four, however, there's an open spot (or perhaps even two), and there are a number of players who will be looking to earn that job.  Because of the fact that the Colts are familiar with his play and that he has experience playing significant time for them, Jalil Brown seems to stand as good of a chance as anybody at winning the number five corner job, though it's anything but guaranteed.  He'll need to show an ability to contribute on special teams as well as an ability to provide quality depth in order to stick around.

What are his chances?

There's a cornerback spot open and Jalil Brown seems to stand a good chance at winning it, though it's far from certain.