What makes Bryan Bresee a 'tough player to evaluate' for NFL draft

CLEMSON — Bryan Bresee was never able to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he arrived at Clemson as the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2020.

Still, he is a player that NFL teams have high expectations for at the next level.

Bresee played in only 26 of 39 games during his time at Clemson as injuries and the tragic death of his sister Ella led to him missing time.

He rarely, if ever, played at 100 percent during his time with the Tigers, whether it be battling through injuries or not being in great shape. Because of that, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah says it is tough breaking down Bresee’s film.

“To me, he is a tough player to evaluate, because you see flashes of it. You see some of the flashes of the quickness. I know he has obviously battled the injuries. I think there’s some stiffness there, and maybe some of it is injury-related, but he is not the most loose athlete,” Jeremiah said. “They move him around up and down the line of scrimmage, but I didn’t see somebody that was really, really explosive and fluid and loose. I thought he was more of a tight athlete who has some power, but that’s why I think you get into a little bit of a tough evaluation there.”

Mock drafts are all over the place as far as where Bryan Bresee will be selected.

Jeremiah has Bresee going No. 24 overall to the Jaguars in his latest mock draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper doesn’t have Bresee going in the first round.

“I have talked to teams that really like him, and I have talked to teams that aren’t nearly as high and don’t see him as a first round player,” Jeremiah said. “It will be interesting to see when it’s all said and done.”

The NFL combine could be big for Bresee this week.

Bresee and the rest of the defensive linemen are scheduled to work out on Thursday.

“I’m excited to see him move. … It’s a great example of a player that I haven’t seen him move around in person. And I think there’s people in scouting departments and GMs and head coaches that have some questions there as well,” Jeremiah said.

“To get out there and see him with your own eyes, after he has had time to get healthy and train, you know, somebody like that, to see those guys move in person, it does have value. I’m looking forward to seeing him in Indy.”

Bresee was a second-team All-ACC selection this past season, finishing with 16 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He appeared in 10 games, making seven starts.

For his career, Bresee recorded 64 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 26 games, with 21 starts.

“He is a little bit of a polarizing player,” Jeremiah said. “He is a guy that has a wide variance of where he could go. There’s a wide range. There’s some guys you look and say, ‘I feel he is probably going to go in this three, four spots.’ He has a very broad range of where he could go. I wouldn’t be shocked if he went much higher or much lower.”