Falcons Draft Profile Bryan Bresee: Strengths, weaknesses, highlights, prediction
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
Bryan Bresee was the top recruit in the country back in 2020 out of Maryland. He is a giant and athletic defensive lineman that still has untapped potential. He played three years at Clemson and showed that he is one tough dude.
Many might know already but he lost his sister, Ella, to brain cancer at the beginning of last season. Despite that, he managed to get himself on the field for ten games last season. Not only did he have to deal with that but he was coming off of a torn ACL the season prior, he had shoulder surgery, and he had a kidney infection in the middle of last season. Yes, injuries are always a big concern but at least you know that he will fight as hard as anyone.
On the football field, he is visibly big and is also a sudden player on the inside. He is extremely smar—in a microcosm he had a play where he allowed the offensive lineman to push him a couple of yards which got the lineman's momentum moving forward, after which, Bresee sidestepped him which sent his blocker falling to the ground, then Bresee went and made the play at the line of scrimmage. It was a smart play that was executed so quickly that he ruined the offense's play call.
Past that he has a good swim move and can get quick wins off of the snap.
Weaknesses:
To be perfectly candid, there are a number of concerns with Bresee, the first being his aforementioned injuries. He missed a number of games at Clemson due to injuries, and it has hurt his draft stock significantly.
His stiffness prevents him from bending around the offensive linemen and making those flexible plays. His hands sit too high and his size makes it challenging to get his hands on the inside. He doesn't get great leverage and gets pushed around more than he should.
His bullrush is underdeveloped and lacks consistency when it comes to being stout in the run game.
Summary:
Bryan Bresee will be drafted for what he could become because he never hit his potential at Clemson, mainly because of injuries and tragedy. That is the other thing, last season was a massively important year for him on the football field and it started out with an awful tragedy with the death of his sister—that, without a doubt, had to affect his play on the field. It is easy to imagine that we haven't seen the best of Bresee because of that.
He showed flashes at times but the first time you really said "Yes! There is Bryan Bresee!" was in the final game of his Clemson career against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. His potential is undeniable but we just haven't seen consistency from him quite yet.