Taven Bryan Provides Solid Interior Depth: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts remain active in the early stages of free agency. The team added yet another pass rusher this offseason, signing former first round pick Taven Bryan to a one year, 4.5 million dollar deal.
Bryan is coming off of a career best season with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, as he set new career-highs in games started (16), sacks (3.0), and hurries (17). He is far from a complete player, but he does bring adequate interior depth to a team that is sorely lacking in that department.
Explosion/Potential
At this point in his career, it is hard to say what Taven Bryan can become in the NFL. He has been a rotational player (at best) through five NFL seasons, and there isn't much evidence to suggest that he could be much more than that in the league. Still, depth is important to have and Bryan does fill a need.
Bryan was a first round pick back in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was primarily drafted due to his athletic potential, as he tested as one of the better defensive tackle draft prospects in the history of the NFL Combine. His relative athletic score is simply bonkers:
While Bryan hasn't been able to take this athleticism and turn it into great production in his carer (only 8.5 career sacks), it is easy to see this ability on film. He is almost always the first player out of his stance when rushing the passer. Easily one of the more explosive players I have seen on film.
Role with the Colts
Taven Bryan is coming off of a season where he did start 16 games, but his best fit in the league is as a rotational pass rusher. He struggles mightily against the run and he was a major liability on run downs a season ago for the Browns.
As a pure one on one pass rusher, Bryan also isn't a big-time producer. He had a pass rush win rate of just 9.8% on the season and he doesn't have many moves in his toolbox outside of speed to power (and the occasional swim move).
The main area where I see him being an asset is in the stunt/twist game. Bryan's explosiveness and overall athletic ability are perfect for stunts, as he can quickly hit his landmarks with ease from the interior. The Browns were able to get some decent pass rush production out of him a year ago by using him on a variety of different stunts:
The Bottom Line
Taven Bryan is far from the slam-dunk signing that Samson Ebukam was yesterday, but he is a quality rotational defensive tackle to add. As long as the Colts keep his overall snaps to a minimum (100-150 pass rush snaps at best), then he can be a productive player that adds some juice off of the bench.
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Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.
