New Orleans Saints draft Bryan Bresee in first round of 2023 NFL Draft

The New Orleans Saints have drafted former Clemson star Bryan Bresee in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Bresee arrived at Clemson and had an immediate impact as a true freshman despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19 in 2020, starting 10 games and racking up 33 tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble and a safety. He earned first-team All-ACC honors and was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Despite being limited to just four games in 2021 due to injury, Bresee was named a third-team All-SEC selection and was credited with 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception on just 154 snaps. This past season, Bresee finished with 15 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in ten games. He also had two passes defended before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Impressively, Bresee ran a 4.93-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine last month, which ranked in the top five among defensive tackles.

Prior to Clemson, Bresee was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2020 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was a consensus Five-Star Plus+ recruit coming out of Damascus (Md.) High.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Bryan Bresee

NFL.com‘s Lance Zierlein provided the following analysis of Bresee, offering Indianapolis Colts DT Grover Stewart as a historical comparison to the former Clemson star.

“Burly but athletic interior tackle who plays with a strong desire to get past the man in front of him. Bresee rarely gets caught up in long block engagements and possesses a deep anchor to battle double teams,” Zierlein wrote of Bresee. “He operates with subtle hand fighting that helps puts pressure on blockers but currently lacks the rush sophistication and shed technique to make more plays in the backfield.

“If he can stay healthy and gain much-needed experience, Bresee should continue to progress at his position and become a good run defender with an ability to disrupt the pocket within his first few NFL seasons.”

Bresee’s weaknesses reside in his injury history — an ACL tear in September 2021 and had shoulder surgery in January 2022. Zierlein lists Bresee’s strengths as his broad but athletic build, can collapse the pocket with ease when he jumps the snap, doesn’t back down from double teams and plays past the blocker with his eyes.