New York Giants Draft Prospect Profile: IDL Bryan Bresee

Bryan Bresee, DT

Height: 6-foot-5½
Weight: 298 lbs.
Class: RS-Sophomore
School: Clemson
Age: 21 (10/6/2001)

Combine Measurements

Arm length: 32 ½”
Hand size: 10 ¼”
40-yard-dash: 4.86
10-yard-split: 1.71
Vertical jump: 29”
Bench press: 22 reps

A former five-star recruit -- and the number one ranked player in the 2020 recruiting cycle -- out of Damascus High School in Damascus, Maryland. According to 247 Sports, he was the 18th-ranked player in their database. He was a two-time high school All-American (USA Today). Bresee was a very good basketball player in high school as well.

Notables

Bresee was one of the most sought-after prospects in recent memory. He committed to Clemson in April 2019. As a freshman All-American, he burst onto the scene and became the second ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in Clemson’s history; the first was Dexter Lawrence in 2016. [STATS]

Bresee only played four games in his sophomore year due to a torn ACL. Injuries and distress plagued Bresee’s collegiate career. Besides his ACL injury, Bresee had shoulder surgery and a kidney infection. His younger sister, Ella, passed away from brain cancer.

Bresee finished his college career with nine sacks, never had more than four in a given season, and never played more than 500 snaps in a year; despite that, there’s immense potential with his skill set, and he’s widely liked by his teammates, and he was a semi-finalist for the LOTT Impact Trophy, which is an honor bestowed to a college football player who makes an IMPACT on and off the field. Bresee was a Second-Team All-ACC in 2022 and finished Third-Team All-ACC after only playing 152 snaps in the 2021 season.

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Strengths

Excellent height and frame with solid length
Excellent athlete with impressive quickness/get off
Lateral agility is exceptional at the snap
Explosive player who times the snap well
When he leverages his athletic ability with his hand usage, good things happen
When he keeps his pad-level down, he does well maintaining his gap integrity
Good overall run defender in one-on-one situations
Smart player who is assignment sound
Good slanter who can penetrate and does a solid job getting skinny on the LOS
Very good power moving forward with heavy hands
When he stays low, he generates good power into contact and can move OL

Lower leg drive is good

Showed counter moves when initial moves failed
It wasn’t consistent, but he displayed a savvy ability to string moves together
Versatile enough to play across the defensive front
Untapped potential is through the roof

Weaknesses

Can get too tall on the LOS - leads to anchor issue
Play strength could improve
Isn’t a threat to bend the edge
A few plays where he seemed a step behind when making a tackle
Uprooted and displaced too often by double teams
Despite showing an ability to string moves together, it’s few and far between; there are a lot of snaps of just him running into IOL
Still unsure of how to employ a secondary pass rush move if it’s not quickly engaged
Really struggled against Notre Dame
Durability concerns and a slew of injuries
Limited production and limited collegiate snaps

Summary

Bryan Bresee’s pedigree as the number one prospect in his recruiting class will still appeal to teams, and there’s no denying his immense untapped potential. Still, questions about his consistency and durability are fair. It may be tough to justify Bresee as a first-round pick with his production profile and limited snaps.

Still, a good defensive line coach can extricate his talent and natural athletic ability. The flashes on his tape are bright -- and he has the traits to be a very good versatile defensive lineman who can play the run & pass -- but there’s a risk.

GRADE: 6.28

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