Many draft analysts view Bryan Bresee as the kind of talent that will be selected within the first 15 picks of this year’s NFL Draft.

Daniel Jeremiah isn’t one of them.

“He’s a little bit of a polarizing player,” Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah, an NFL Network draft analyst and former NFL scout, had the former Clemson defensive tackle being taken with the 24th overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in his latest mock draft. That despite Jeremiah having Bresee ranked as the No. 43 draft prospect.

Part of Jeremiah’s reasoning for that, he explained, was the track record of Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, who previously served in the same role with the San Francisco 49ers.

“I was looking at Jacksonville and looking at their ability to get after the quarterback, and I thought there’s some upside there with some interior pass rush,” Jeremiah said. “You look at Trent Baalke, and he’s always liked big guys. So you have someone that kind of fits their frame, and you go back to (former defensive lineman) Justin Smith when he was with the 49ers. At that time, you had Justin Smith and Aldon Smith And you could look at it and say, ‘OK, you drafted (2022 No. 1 overall pick) Travon Walker and you’re hoping he could be Aldon Smith.’ And Bryan Bresee, you’re hoping he could be Justin Smith. That was one of the reasons why I paired them up there.”

But Jeremiah said there’s also a “wide variance” of where Bresee could be taken based on conversations he’s had with various personnel around the league leading up to April’s draft. Some teams are higher than others on the potential of Bresee, who was the No. 1 prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle but dealt with his share of injuries at Clemson, including a torn ACL that cut his sophomore season short.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if he went much higher or much lower (than 24th),” Jeremiah said.

Bresee still played just three seasons with the Tigers, posting 15 tackles and a career-high 3.5 sacks in 10 games as a junior. He finished his time at Clemson with 50 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

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

“I have talked to teams that really like him, and I’ve talked to teams that aren’t nearly as high on him and don’t see him as a first-round player.”

Bresee will be one of eight former Clemson players to participate in the NFL scouting combine next week. He’ll take part in on-field workouts with the rest of the defensive linemen Thursday, and Jeremiah said he’s eager to see how Bresee performs in that setting. 

“And I’m sure there are people in scouting departments, 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’s had time to get healthy and train, somebody like that, to see those guys move in person, it does have value. So I’m looking forward to seeing him in (Indianapolis).”

CBS Sports has Bresee rated as the 35th-best draft prospect and the No. 3 defensive tackle. Meanwhile, ESPN ranks Bresee as the No. 2 defensive tackle and eighth-best overall player in this year’s draft, which will be held in April.

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