Bryan Bresee NFL Draft Scouting Report

IDL, Clemson Tigers

Clemson defensive lineman Bryan Bresee projects as a starting defensive lineman in the NFL. Bresee’s natural ability is evident when you watch him on film; he’s capable of penetrating and crashing through gaps with consistency and creating chaos in offensive backfields. He’s endured some incredible adversity throughout his career at Clemson, but it feels as though he’s poised to recapture his early college form upon a transition to the NFL. 

Originally a 5-star recruit, Bresee committed to Clemson as the No. 1 recruit in the country from Damascus High School in Maryland. He was an accomplished football and basketball player; he had 35 sacks and 80 tackles for loss at Damascus while also averaging a double/double as a basketball standout. His impact for the Tigers was felt immediately, as he earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020. His time with the Tigers since has been challenging in varying degrees. He suffered multiple injuries in 2021 and had his season ended after just four games with a torn ACL. He played through tragedy in 2022, logging snaps in 10 games amid the tragic loss of his younger sister, Ella, to cancer in September. He finished the season in 2022 before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft in early January.  

The physical skill set is just so obvious when you view his full sample size of film, particularly when he was playing at full strength as a freshman and early in 2021. He’s won on some of the shallow twists, which allow him to open his strides as he gets into a gap. That offers a clear look at why he’s been so highly regarded as a prep recruit. I like him best as a penetration 3-technique. When he’s charged with quickly getting into the backfield, you can see him at his best. He’s twitchy and can rip through lateral contact in order to uncover and then flash to the football with suddenness. He’s capable of gearing down and flattening down the line of scrimmage out of these gap charges to get into pursuit of the football. 

Bresee has showcased the needed versatility to play up and down the line at Clemson and I think in the right scheme (penetration based) he could offer similar versatility in the front at the NFL level—particularly with Clemson’s tendency to reduce him down as a head-up rusher on the center to try to dictate 5-0 protection calls from the opposition. Bresee is also accustomed to drawing a crowd and his movement skills and motor allow him to routinely play through that added attention and ensure he’s providing a sufficient level of flow to the football in order to allow him to help clean up extended plays. He’s a prototypical build to play in the B-gap at the NFL level and, when fully healthy, he’s a chore for interior blockers. 

Aside from some needed growth and development in Bresee’s fundamentals, he’s going to need to showcase himself as fully recovered from the injuries that piled up over the course of his final two seasons at Clemson. From an execution standpoint, Bresee could stand to be more consistent with his pad level, ensuring he is playing with leverage in the front. Too many times you caught him bubbled off the line of scrimmage when being asked to stack blockers and control gaps. I think he’s much, much better as a penetration defender and unless there’s improvement here, I’m not sure he’ll be a universal prospect for all 32 teams and instead could be a more scheme-specific player long-term. 

Bresee’s ability against the run shines best when he’s flowing laterally along the line of scrimmage to stay in the hip pocket of blockers in zone looks—if you decide to run right at him with double teams, I think you can test him best based on his most recent tape. As a pass rusher, Bresee commands a lot of attention. Added focus on ways to successfully negotiate multiple sets of hands and generating forward motion through contact is going to allow his production to make the needed leap for him to live up to his physical potential.

Expectations for Bresee should be centered around him taking significant snaps early in his career and that he should be able to steadily build himself back to being the player that was the No.1 recruit in the country coming out of high school. He is more of a high-variance projection now but I am willing to bet that, medical setbacks aside, Bresee will recapture his elite form in time. 

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Natural athleticism is quickly evident

• Reactive quickness to finish splash plays
• Scheme-diverse skill set and frame

Top Reasons For Concern:

• Durability concerns highlighted with several significant injuries over three seasons

• Pad-level consistency in leveraging the point of attack
• Fewer than 500 snaps taken over the last two seasons

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 6′ 5 1/2”

Weight: 298 lbs

Arm Length: 32 1/2”

Hand Size: 10 1/4”

Athletic Testing (NFL Combine):

40-yard Dash: 4.86s

Vertical Jump: 29”

Broad Jump: TBD

Short-Shuttle: TBD

Three-Cone: TBD

Bench Reps: 22 reps

Ideal Role: Alignment versatile (Base end, 4i, 3T, or nose tackle on obvious passing situations)

Scheme Fit: Penetration front

TDN Consensus Grade: 86.00/100 (First-Round Value)

• Crabbs Grade: 86.00/100

Written By: Kyle Crabbs

Exposures: Georgia (2021), Georgia Tech (2021), Notre Dame (2022), South Carolina (2022), Tennessee (2022)

Bryan Bresee NFL Draft Scouting Report. Add him to your big board here.