Saints DL Bryan Bresee: A Big Step Up for No. 24 Player in 2026?

When the New Orleans Saints chose defensive lineman Bryan Bresee with the 29th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Clemson, there wasn’t a ton of excitement. It was a position of need then – and now – but it was unclear if Bresee would be someone who would live up to the billing of a first-round selection.

Here we are in Season No. 4, and we still aren’t sure.

In 2024, Bresee collected 7.5 sacks and was a big part of a defense that had more downs than ups, as Dennis Allen was fired midseason, and on offense Derek Carr was injured twice and lost for good with a month to play.

Meanwhile, that same season both Chase Young and Cameron Jordan were disappointments, as was the middle of the defensive line, so there was hope Bresee would step up in 2025. Instead, we didn’t hear his name called all that often.

In his defense, Young and Jordan each had fantastic seasons, and the interior of the line was better overall than the previous season. Also, we’re still wondering how Bresee fits into defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s 3-4 scheme.

Is this the season he takes a huge step up? Bresee already has had his fifth-year option exercised for a significant $13.9 million. If he wants a long-term extension, he will have to prove his worth in 2026. Will he?

Please share your thoughts on our Top 25 Saints Heading Into 2026 by emailing the Saints On SI Publisher and Beat Writer Jim Derry at jim@jimderry.com.

Why is Bresee so important?

For a bit, the defensive line was viewed as the weak spot of the Saints defense. No longer, as Young played like the Chase Young many expected, and the unit as a whole went from 30th in the NFL in 2024 to ninth overall last season. In fact, the team’s defense jumped all the way to fourth against the pass in yards allowed per game.

And although we still don’t know the status of Jordan, we do know most of the cast up front will all be back.

3rd down, Chase Young & Bryan Bresee got us covered. ❌

📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/OM7djw5OES
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 19, 2025

That being said, the biggest reason why this will be a key season for Bresee is as this team is hoping to finish up the rebuilding phase and move into a contending phase by 2027, they certainly will look different up front very soon.

Davon Godchaux, who started 14 games at tackle in 2025 will be 32 years old this year. Nathan Shepherd is 33, and he has a voidable minimum contract in 2027, which means he likely is playing his final season here.

Behind Bresee, second-year player Vernon Broughton was injured all of last season, so he is an unknown and basically will be playing a rookie season.

This means, Bresee is going to have a huge opportunity for the team to view him as a giant piece of the future … which would go a long way toward him receiving the aforementioned long-term deal.

To answer the original question, “why is Bresee so important,” the answer may be because of his long-term importance more than just for 2026.

Bresee’s strengths and weaknesses

His strength clearly is … well … his strength. Bresee has always been one of the eye-opening players in the weight room, and that translates to being able to shed would-be blocks.

Obviously, that is key to someone playing on the interior of a defensive line, and as we already mentioned it showed up big time in 2024, as he recorded 7.5 sacks, which ranked him third among all NFL defensive tackles.

6'5"
298 pounds

And @ClemsonFB DL Bryan Bresee just flew with a 4.93u. 👀

📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/z7ZvxfVC4B
— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2023

What led him to regress last season? Most likely, it was a new defensive system under Staley. Was it that he couldn’t grasp the system or because he didn’t fit as well as he did in the 4-3 base?

We’ll likely find out this season, but the fact the team picked up his fifth year means they think he will improve.

Recent season stats

Bresee started more games last season (15) than his first two seasons combined, although he didn’t start any as a rookie before starting 11 in 2024.

Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Bryan Bresee lead The Who Dat Chant. @wdsu pic.twitter.com/wmLN5HswII
— Sharief Ishaq (@ShariefWDSU) September 8, 2024

He has 14.5 total sacks in three seasons, and his total tackles has gone from 24 in 2023 to 25 in 2024 to 37 last year. Also, he has 31 QB hits over three seasons and 19 tackles for loss.

Background

Bryan Bresee was born Oct. 6, 2001 (will turn 25 during the season) in Damascus, Md., and he played at Urbana High School in Frederick, Md.

He was the No. 1 overall high school recruit by On3 from the Class of 2020, just ahead of No. 2 Bryce Young and 16 spots ahead of No. 17 Will Anderson.

Bresee also played high school basketball and led Urbana to two state titles – in 2017 and 2019 – where he averaged 13.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game his senior year.

He turned down offers to Penn State, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State to play for Dabo Swinney at Clemson. It was a great freshman season, as he was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The rest of the Top 25 so far …

25, RET Barion Brown, June 2

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