Quick hits five days before the Chargers open the 2016 season:

1) Chargers rookie Jatavis Brown made the most of one exhibition game.

2) Only a watered-down scrimmage but Brown’s work matched up with his college film and flashes from early in training camp.

He’s advanced at football geometry: gets from point A to point B in the shortest distance. This speaks to vision, awareness, agility and toughness.


3) Brown caught a break early in training camp. An injury sidelined Denzel Perryman for eight days, so the rookie rotated between the first and second team. He worked next to signal-caller Manti Te’o, one of the defense’s smartest players, for a few drills against Chargers starters.

He had fuzzy moments but looked comfortable for the most part. He was assertive versus NFL size and speed.

4) An ankle injury cost him three exhibitions. When he returned last week to brush up and face the 49ers, he sustained the previous impression: this guy has a chance.

5) Small for the position, Brown is 5-foot-11 and a listed 221 pounds.


6) Of course, he’s very quick and agile, or he would’ve gone undrafted at that size.

7) To succeed as an inside linebacker, he has to do what other undersized linebackers do. An example is Deone Bucannon. A safety for Washington State, he was 211 pounds when he entered the 2013 draft. The Arizona Cardinals took Bucannon, who’s 6-1, in the first round and moved him to linebacker. The motive was to increase the defense’s speed in pass coverage, run blitzes and pass rush.

8) Bucannon has thrived amid the giants because he makes fast, smart choices and is very athletic.

Also, brave. Knifing into the line, Bucannon will bounce off 320-pound blockers and fire low into running backs.


9) Brown displayed similar qualities in college, and in recent weeks.

10) He whipped 49ers guard Josh Garnett, a prize rookie from Stanford. The 49ers drafted Garnett in the first round, and he’s listed as a starter on some depth charts.

Brown got into Garnett before the 312-pounder could grab him. The Chargers rookie staggered his larger opponent, sending him to the ground, and then helped stopped the running back for a short game.

11) Two other times, Brown made haste to the backfield by finding a crevice in an interior gap. His agility allowed him to create angles that other run-blitz linebackers can’t create, and to get a piece of a running back.


12) One exhibition.

13) Brown is a promising prospect. He should see work on special teams. If needed at linebacker, he’ll force the offense to account for him.

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