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ASHBURN, Va. -- The offseason didn't dent Washington Redskins linebacker Zach Brown's confidence, even if a Pro Bowl season only garnered him a one-year contract from a new team. And even if, for now, he's working with the second defense. Brown likes where he's at in his career; and he said he'll play with more than just pads on his shoulder. Making the Pro Bowl after last season in Buffalo, with career-best stats, did not result in a much bigger pay day. So Brown wants to top 2016. "I want to win the defensive MVP," Brown said.  But to achieve that, it's not just shoulder pads and the No. 53 he'll be wearing.
"I'll make other head coaches pay for not drafting me or picking me up," Brown said. "I feel [people] still don't respect me, so for me I have to prove myself again. I always play with a chip on my shoulder. If you don't respect my game, I will make you respect my game. "I can play with the best of them. I'm not just another linebacker that can be replaced. I feel I'm one of the top guys in the league at inside linebacker. I can do everything." That would be just fine with the Redskins, who signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $2.55 million with $700,000 guaranteed. The Redskins are Brown's third team: Tennessee drafted him in the second round in 2012, but let him exit in free agency last offseason. For now, Brown has worked with the Redskins' No. 2 defense, but in their first nickel. The Redskins also have Mason Foster and Will Compton, both of whom started last season and have remained in those spots this spring. Nothing is guaranteed for anyone in this group. Brown's speed and athleticism -- he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds at the combine -- were cited as the primary attraction when Washington signed him. It's hard to imagine him not playing a bigger role for a defense that ranked 28th in total yards each of the past two seasons. Brown said he's not fully comfortable in the Redskins' defense yet, adding that this likely won't happen until training camp -- when they're going over the defensive playbook for a third time (after the organized team activities and minicamp). But there are enough similarities to what he ran in Buffalo last season that it eases the transition. Still, this season represents Brown's fourth system in his first six seasons. He was drafted as an outside linebacker in a 4-3, but said he likes playing inside in a 3-4. Brown was courted by Oakland, a 4-3 team, this offseason as well. "He’s a great athlete," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "You can't coach the height, weight, speed that he has -- the natural speed. You can feel it at linebacker with him chasing down players on the outside zones or the tosses outside and chasing down backs out of the backfield, so it's a great addition for us ... he's going to be a heck of a player for us." Brown said he played better last season because he trusted his teammates, piling up 149 tackles, four sacks and four passes defensed. Because of changing systems and players, Brown said that was not the case in Tennessee. The Titans benched him after five games in 2015. And Brown said he already feels a strong comfort level with his current group. It begins, Brown said, with off-field camaraderie and getting to know players beyond the locker room. "In Tennessee, I could trust three or four people," he said. "Everyone else I couldn't trust because I didn’t know them like that." But, Brown said, it also helps that he's adapted his game. When he entered the NFL, Brown said he heard the knocks on his game: "Everyone was like, 'he's soft, all he can do is get in space and cover,'" Brown said. "That's one thing in my game I improved on: downhill, physicality, just hitting people and not running me over to get a touchdown." If he shows it in Washington, the Redskins will be pleased and then, perhaps, Brown will receive a long-term deal. For now, though, he plays with that chip. "Everyone should have a chip on their shoulder," he said. "Don't ever get comfortable."
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