The New Orleans Saints snagged Bryan Bresee with one of the final three picks in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night. After waiting hours to hear his name called, the former Clemson star defensive lineman was finally taken by the Saints with the 29th overall selection.
Bresee came to Clemson in 2020 as the nation’s No. 1 prospect in his recruiting class and collected freshman All-American honors that season in addition to earning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. After missing most of the 2021 season due to a torn ACL, Bresee returned to earn All-ACC honors in 2022 despite battling a myriad of issues that included family tragedy and personal health concerns.
After Bresee was drafted, ESPN analyst Booger McFarland discussed what the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder can bring to New Orleans with his versatility and athletic ability if he’s at his best.
“To me, he brings a lot of scheme versatility because you can line him up at the one-technique, which is right off of the center. You can line him up at the three-technique over the guard,” McFarland said. “So, New Orleans can play him anywhere they want to play him, as long as they get the 2020 version of him where he was a freshman All-American.
“It’s rare you see a guy that big that can run sub 5.40 that can move like that, and he can unleash that, and now – you still have Cam Jordan coming off the edge –- this could be a ferocious pass rush.”
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick also weighed in after the Saints selected Bresee, saying he can bring needed youth and pass-rush aid to their interior defensive line.
“They need a pass rush on the inside to help out Cam Jordan,” Riddick said. “They’re getting a little old. They’re getting a little long in the tooth on the defensive side. They don’t need him just to be a two-gapper. Obviously they need him to stop the run for them to get to third down, but they need this guy to be able to push the pocket on the inside and be disruptive.”
The Saints will be trying to get Bresee back to the disruptive form he showed as a true freshman in 2020 when he posted career-highs in tackles (33) and sacks (4).
Many believe Bresee’s best football is ahead of him, and Riddick hopes to see a healthy Bresee who can start off fast and grab hold of his new opportunity with the Saints from the get-go.
“Hopefully he’s healthy now and he’s in a good space mentally to where he can really hit the ground running because last year, at different times, he looked like a shell of himself,” Riddick said. “He looked like somebody who really just needed to get the season over, get to training and get himself right.”
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