So much attention on the annual NFL draft centers on which prospects are the best fits for different teams, but there’s another approach you can take — which matches are unlikely to work out? Which players should some teams avoid?
That’s a question Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay tackled this week, now that the 2023 draft is in sight. And they highlighted one prospect the New Orleans Saints should pass on: Clemson Tigers defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, projected to be a first-round pick. While that position is the Saints’ top team need, there are some items on Bresee’s scouting report that raise concern:
Getting an interior pass-rusher who can also assist against the run would be the best possible outcome for New Orleans with the No. 29 picks. There are a few prospects who fit the bill who could still be available late in the first round, including a recent riser in Clemson’s Bryan Bresee.
The 6’5″, 298-pound defensive tackle doesn’t have a great history of production despite being the top recruit in the 2020 class. He missed time with various injuries and off-field matters, leading him to record just 28 tackles and nine sacks in 25 games for the Tigers.
While his strength and athleticism could lead to him increasing that output in the NFL, he’s already suffered an ACL tear and underwent shoulder surgery in the past two years. The health problems could creep back up, making this a pick to avoid in Round 1, even for a team as desperate for interior defensive line help as the Saints.
Bresee’s promising college football career was derailed by a series of health issues — on top of that torn ACL and surgically-repaired shoulder, he was hospitalized last September with a serious kidney infection and strep throat. Players have overcome those hurdles to achieve great things in the pros before, but the Saints don’t have a great track record when working with prospects who have already been put through the wringer at the college level.
And, yeah, Bresee is someone I’ve downplayed as a potential Saints draft target before. He’s very inconsistent from one snap to the next and doesn’t have many hand-fighting techniques to work with as a pass rusher. He gets pushed off the line of scrimmage and doesn’t make enough of an impact on passing downs as someone with his athleticism ought to. He’s far from a finished product despite coming out of a program run by an all-star coaching staff. The Saints do need a big-time defensive tackle, but there should be better prospects available for them than Bresee.
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Story originally appeared on Saints Wire