Giants Add Linebacker T.J. Brunson with Second of Four Seventh Round Picks
Continuing to focus on defense and leadership, the Giants added South Carolina LB T.J. Brunson with the second of their four picks int he seventh round and the pick they acquired from the Saints two years ago in the trade for cornerback Eli Apple.
A two-year team captain, who graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. Brunson was a combine snub, but he was in Mobile for the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he was very undersized for an inside linebacker (6-foot, 219 pounds, with 31⅞” arm length).
Like all of Gettleman’s picks in 2020, Brunson has experience, having started in 38 of 49 career games for South Carolina, and bringing a very physical nature to the Gamecocks defense.
Brunson lays the hammer and plays with a lot of competitive toughness. I’ve been exposed to Brunson’s film through osmosis, having studied Javon Kinlaw and D.J. Wonnum, but Brunson caught my eye a few times.
Brunson was the defensive leader and was making the calls, while constantly barking orders and adjusting his teammates. It was apparent that his communication skills, and his understanding of the defense were something he found natural.
He seemed to be in position when in the box and utilized good angles to execute his run fits. Kinlaw’s role with the defense was to destroy the A-gap and command double teams with an up-field push, which left the A-gap susceptible if Kinlaw didn’t blow the play up in the backfield. Brunson would put himself in a position to ensure that those runs weren’t long gains for the offense. He’s smart and physical, and there’s value in that.
He’s very aggressive and will make a lot of highlight-reel hits, but his tackling mechanics are a bit wild. He takes a lot of penalties and has to clean up his form. He loves to throw his body at opponents instead of coming to balance, wrapping up, and driving through ball carriers.
He doesn’t possess the range or athletic ability to be a three-down linebacker in the NFL; the range isn’t there to operate sideline to sideline. I saw him down in Mobile, and he wasn’t all that effective in the one on one coverage drills against running backs and tight ends; those drills are usually catered to the offense, but his marginal athletic ability was evident at the Senior Bowl.
He is more of a two-down, run-stuffing, linebacker who doesn’t thrive in coverages, which is a lost art in the modern-day NFL. This is a 7th round pick and he has redeemable qualities, like his intelligence, leadership, and effectiveness in the box. He has a chance to latch onto the roster as a special teamer, but he has limitations to his game.
A two-time permanent team captain, he started every game over the past two seasons as part of his 38 career starts, and recorded 283 career tackles, including 164 unassisted tackles, tying for 10th on the school’s all-time list.
Among his numerous awards includes the 2018 Joe Morrison Most Valuable Player - Defense an award named after one-time Giants great Joe Morrison, who had his number retired by the club years ago.
