Welcome Chris Braswell

[Grahamburn]

I’ve also seen a couple places credit him with 13 sacks ( that review and draft buzz). Officially only had 8. Dude was around the QB a lot.

May be changing my tune in him.

[Grahamburn]

Chris Braswell enters the NFL Draft scene as a bit of a puzzle wrapped in Crimson Tide colors. On one hand, the guy's a dynamo on the edge, boasting a speed-to-power ratio that keeps tackles up at night. His first-step is like a gunshot, and he's got a motor that just doesn't quit. But the flip side of that coin shows a player still rough around the edges. His technique against the pass could use a tune-up. The NFL caliber linemen won't be as forgiving as those he bulldozed in college, and his toolkit needs a few more gadgets.

For all his sheer physicality and raw power, Braswell isn't a finished product. His ankle flexibility and hip fluidity – the bread and butter of elite pass rushers – are areas scouts are squinting at. Can he bend the edge at the next level, or will he be outmaneuvered by the league's more agile tackles? And while his run defense is like hitting a brick wall, his play recognition can sometimes have him chasing ghosts, an exploit savvy NFL offenses will test.

Drafting Braswell is betting on potential, a gamble that could pay dividends with the right coaching. He's a powerhouse with the kind of raw talent you can't teach, paired with a set of weaknesses that can, ideally, be coached out. The team that drafts him is not just picking a player; they're making an investment. It's about sculpting that raw talent, refining his technique, and expanding his arsenal. If it all clicks, Braswell could be the steal of the draft, a disruptive force on the defensive front. But it's a journey – one that will require patience, finesse, and a keen eye for development.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Chr ... LB-Alabama

[Cheb]

So I was watching some of ball from our new outside linebacker Chris Braswell today. He's #41, feel free to watch along:





I mean, I guess he tries? He moves better in coverage than I would have expected which is nice. He has tools in his toolbox of rush techniques but they're all rusty and of poor quality. His go-to seems to be speed-to-power, but he has no power. I don't care what he lifts, it doesn't show on the field. College linemen were giving him the business, and the men's league will not be easier for him. He was even getting bodied by tight ends. The only thing worse than his three point stance is his get off, which is consistently the worst on every rep.

I'm not gonna delude myself into thinking that I see a guy worth a second round pick, a guy I am excited to see this fall in pewter because I like his traits. What I'm seeing is a guy who did not look like a draftable talent.

I hope Chris proves me wrong, because he looked very, very bad. I am officially Concerned.

[Bootz]

I’ve also seen a couple places credit him with 13 sacks ( that review and draft buzz). Officially only had 8. Dude was around the QB a lot.

May be changing my tune in him.

How is that even debatable?? Has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's some real rose colored glasses type shit if you fall for it. But you've proven that it doesn't take much.

[Selmon Rules]

I learned that I am, apparently, the ideal height and weight for an NFL Edge rusher....



If I were only 40 years younger and athletic, lol

[Grahamburn]

Harsh analysis. Not draftable?

[Grahamburn]

Even in the first video you posted he put heat on Beck multiple times in the first two minutes of it.

[Grahamburn]

I’ve also seen a couple places credit him with 13 sacks ( that review and draft buzz). Officially only had 8. Dude was around the QB a lot.

May be changing my tune in him.

How is that even debatable?? Has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's some real rose colored glasses type shit if you fall for it. But you've proven that it doesn't take much.

Go fuck yourself. Please put me on ignore.

[Bootz]

How is that even debatable?? Has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's some real rose colored glasses type shit if you fall for it. But you've proven that it doesn't take much.

Go fuck yourself. Please put me on ignore.

Checkmate. Even you know how ridiculous that sounds, that's why you got so triggered.

"Officially he has 8 sacks but some random site that I chose not to post says he really might have 13 sacks".

[Grahamburn]

Chris Braswell enters the NFL Draft scene as a bit of a puzzle wrapped in Crimson Tide colors. On one hand, the guy's a dynamo on the edge, boasting a speed-to-power ratio that keeps tackles up at night. His first-step is like a gunshot, and he's got a motor that just doesn't quit. But the flip side of that coin shows a player still rough around the edges. His technique against the pass could use a tune-up. The NFL caliber linemen won't be as forgiving as those he bulldozed in college, and his toolkit needs a few more gadgets.

For all his sheer physicality and raw power, Braswell isn't a finished product. His ankle flexibility and hip fluidity – the bread and butter of elite pass rushers – are areas scouts are squinting at. Can he bend the edge at the next level, or will he be outmaneuvered by the league's more agile tackles? And while his run defense is like hitting a brick wall, his play recognition can sometimes have him chasing ghosts, an exploit savvy NFL offenses will test.

Drafting Braswell is betting on potential, a gamble that could pay dividends with the right coaching. He's a powerhouse with the kind of raw talent you can't teach, paired with a set of weaknesses that can, ideally, be coached out. The team that drafts him is not just picking a player; they're making an investment. It's about sculpting that raw talent, refining his technique, and expanding his arsenal. If it all clicks, Braswell could be the steal of the draft, a disruptive force on the defensive front. But it's a journey – one that will require patience, finesse, and a keen eye for development.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Chr ... LB-Alabama

In 2023 as a junior Braswell played in 13 games and contributed on 534 snaps. He recorded 21 tackles, 14 assists while making 24 stops. In coverage Braswell chalked up no pass breakups, one interception, and QB rating when targetted of 90.6. As a pass rusher, he produced 54 total pressures, which included 31 QB hurries, 10 QB hits, and an outstanding 13 sacks on the year.

[Bootz]

So I was watching some of ball from our new outside linebacker Chris Braswell today. He's #41, feel free to watch along:





I mean, I guess he tries? He moves better in coverage than I would have expected which is nice. He has tools in his toolbox of rush techniques but they're all rusty and of poor quality. His go-to seems to be speed-to-power, but he has no power. I don't care what he lifts, it doesn't show on the field. College linemen were giving him the business, and the men's league will not be easier for him. He was even getting bodied by tight ends. The only thing worse than his three point stance is his get off, which is consistently the worst on every rep.

I'm not gonna delude myself into thinking that I see a guy worth a second round pick, a guy I am excited to see this fall in pewter because I like his traits. What I'm seeing is a guy who did not look like a draftable talent.

I hope Chris proves me wrong, because he looked very, very bad. I am officially Concerned.

Lookin at this from the absolute best case scenario, I'd hope these are the worst games he's played. This film is bad. It looks like if a lineman gets their hands on him the rep is done. The games he attempted to run were so slow and deliberate.

Bowles & staff have their work cut out for themselves here.

[Bootz]

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Chr ... LB-Alabama

In 2023 as a junior Braswell played in 13 games and contributed on 534 snaps. He recorded 21 tackles, 14 assists while making 24 stops. In coverage Braswell chalked up no pass breakups, one interception, and QB rating when targetted of 90.6. As a pass rusher, he produced 54 total pressures, which included 31 QB hurries, 10 QB hits, and an outstanding 13 sacks on the year.

So you're saying the University of Alabama and the NCAA is lying?

https://rolltide.com/sports/football/ro ... swell/8762

2023
Earned second team All-SEC recognition from the Associated Press ... forced a team-high three fumbles to tie for the SEC lead and 15th nationally ... tied for third in the conference and ranked second on UA for sacks with eight (-57 yards ) ... recorded 42 total stops, including 10.5 for loss (-61 yards) to go with his sacks ...

[mdb1958]

Here you go


https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/pl ... ell-1.html

[Grahamburn]

Here you go


https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/pl ... ell-1.html

Obviously I’ve looked at that. Just pointing out that draft buzz and that video I posted previously credited him with 13. No idea why that would be or the reason for the discrepancy. :shrug:

[Jonny]

Those videos of Braswell are so bad that my player comp of Diaby is starting to give me concerns. I only brough up Diaby from a raw athleticism and speed-to-power style pass rush. But he isn't half the relentless head hunter Diaby was at Louisville. This is exactly why I was so strongly hoping Bucs would go the route of Mo Kamara, Jonah Ellis, Austin Booker. I understand that measurables are important and these three guys are undersized. But they routinely dominated their competition irrespective of their measurables, where as our guy's best plays are clean-up stuff.

If Braswell played for Utah, Kansas State or Colorado State, he would probably be a day 3 selection and considered a worse prospect than the three guys I mentioned.

[Grahamburn]

Lot of shade.

Can he stand up and rush the passer on 3rd down right away? Yeah.

Can he develop into more? Yeah.

Sorry we didn’t get Latu or Turner with the 57th pick.

More production than Chop though, and several posters were hating on the idea of him because of the lack.

[Ken]

I'm watching the Georgia tape and seeing the comment "The only thing worse than his three point stance is his get off, which is consistently the worst on every rep." I'm sorry, maybe I'm not a football coach, but it seems patently obvious to me that on most snaps he is playing contain in this game. If you're wanting to see high voltage pass rushing, probably unlikely to see it in a game where he is clearly being asked to keep the QB in the pocket and stifle the UGA rushing attack. 33 carries for 78 yards, and Beck had 0 touchdowns. Seems like it worked to me, especially considering that was the one game in the past 2 seasons that the Dawgs lost.

[Buc2]

[13F11B]

After watching the film posted here and a few others on the Internet I am not seeing anything special with this guy. I will reserve judgment until we see him in action for the Buccaneers, but I like others have come away less than impressed. The only thing I saw from him that I liked is he played his gap and did not get out of position too often.

[Jonny]

Lot of shade.

Can he stand up and rush the passer on 3rd down right away? Yeah.

Can he develop into more? Yeah.

Sorry we didn’t get Latu or Turner with the 57th pick.

More production than Chop though, and several posters were hating on the idea of him because of the lack.

I totally understand we would not be getting a pass rushing phenom at this pick. But like I mentioned, there were a different style of rushers available. More refined technicians, guys used to living in the backfield despite their physical limitations. Why get another version of Diaby or JTS, possibly an inferior version of them?

[Ken]

I definitely think so of this "lack of explosion" is Alabama asking him to be a responsible gap defender. Georgia averaged 191 yards rushing until they were held to 78. Against LSU, the running threat of Jayden Daniels clearly impacted how the Tide rushed the passer. If he was blazing upfield and allowing containment to be broken every play but also got a sack, would that have made you guys feel like he was a better player?

Glad to be getting a guy who has played in an NFL-level scheme for 4 years. EDGE defenders aren't just pass rushers.

[Bootz]

I definitely think so of this "lack of explosion" is Alabama asking him to be a responsible gap defender. Georgia averaged 191 yards rushing until they were held to 78. Against LSU, the running threat of Jayden Daniels clearly impacted how the Tide rushed the passer. If he was blazing upfield and allowing containment to be broken every play but also got a sack, would that have made you guys feel like he was a better player?

Glad to be getting a guy who has played in an NFL-level scheme for 4 years. EDGE defenders aren't just pass rushers.

But EDGE defenders are pass rushers and have to do so. All you're saying here is you believe Alabama simply hasn't asked him to display or utilize his pass rush skills. In that regard, if what you're saying is correct, then we severely overdrafted. You don't take a guy with a premium pick at the EDGE position if he's not a pass rusher. Let's not try to fool people into thinking the NFL is something it's not. You by your analysis here even admit without saying that he isn't very equipped to be a successful pass rusher at the NFL level because he wasn't even one in college.

[Backside]

Special teams stud

[mdb1958]

I definitely think so of this "lack of explosion" is Alabama asking him to be a responsible gap defender. Georgia averaged 191 yards rushing until they were held to 78. Against LSU, the running threat of Jayden Daniels clearly impacted how the Tide rushed the passer. If he was blazing upfield and allowing containment to be broken every play but also got a sack, would that have made you guys feel like he was a better player?

Glad to be getting a guy who has played in an NFL-level scheme for 4 years. EDGE defenders aren't just pass rushers.

But EDGE defenders are pass rushers and have to do so. All you're saying here is you believe Alabama simply hasn't asked him to display or utilize his pass rush skills. In that regard, if what you're saying is correct, then we severely overdrafted. You don't take a guy with a premium pick at the EDGE position if he's not a pass rusher. Let's not try to fool people into thinking the NFL is something it's not. You by your analysis here even admit without saying that he isn't very equipped to be a successful pass rusher at the NFL level because he wasn't even one in college.

Trice, Eliss, Isaac, and Hunt were all trade back.

[Sdbucs]

I'm either reading that he was slept on and a total beast on a strong D-line, or that he's trash and undraftable.

Will be interesting to follow

[Ken]

I definitely think so of this "lack of explosion" is Alabama asking him to be a responsible gap defender. Georgia averaged 191 yards rushing until they were held to 78. Against LSU, the running threat of Jayden Daniels clearly impacted how the Tide rushed the passer. If he was blazing upfield and allowing containment to be broken every play but also got a sack, would that have made you guys feel like he was a better player?

Glad to be getting a guy who has played in an NFL-level scheme for 4 years. EDGE defenders aren't just pass rushers.

But EDGE defenders are pass rushers and have to do so. All you're saying here is you believe Alabama simply hasn't asked him to display or utilize his pass rush skills. In that regard, if what you're saying is correct, then we severely overdrafted. You don't take a guy with a premium pick at the EDGE position if he's not a pass rusher. Let's not try to fool people into thinking the NFL is something it's not. You by your analysis here even admit without saying that he isn't very equipped to be a successful pass rusher at the NFL level because he wasn't even one in college.

I was speaking specifically about the UGA and LSU games where it's pretty clear to me that he was being asked to do something that plays into a tackle's hands on a pass rush: focus on maintaining your gap in the run game.

[Grahamburn]

I'm either reading that he was slept on and a total beast on a strong D-line, or that he's trash and undraftable.

Will be interesting to follow

Led the SEC in pressures.

He’s somewhat flawed. Not a perfect prospect. Ok? He led the SEC in pressures. He’s the 57th pick. Not the 8th. He’ll help our team next year.

[Sdbucs]

I'm either reading that he was slept on and a total beast on a strong D-line, or that he's trash and undraftable.

Will be interesting to follow

Led the SEC in pressures.

He’s somewhat flawed. Not a perfect prospect. Ok? He led the SEC in pressures. He’s the 57th pick. Not the 8th. He’ll help our team next year.

Exactly. Leading the SEC in pressures is an impressive stat. His flaws all seem coachable, but we've heard that before.

[Cheb]

Maybe I didn't give Chris a fair shake. Let's look at his best statistical game from last season, his two sack performance against Tennessee. The video is below, feel free to watch, he's #41 in red:



Chris Braswell seems to be off the field frequently, seemingly alternating series. If he's that great of a player, why would Bama take him off the field? I digress.

Chris again shows many reps of middling play, lots of patty-cake and lots of jogging. For those feeling optimistic, you can skip ahead to the good stuff.

His first sack is at 8:32 in the third quarter, timestamp about 8:50 in the video. Chris starts with a cross chop into a long arm and does a decent job of getting up the field. The entire line does a great job of squeezing the pocket and Joe Milton feels the pressure and decides to scramble. Joe just happens to scramble through the gap adjacent to Braswell, who brings him down. Now is this Braswell winning his rep, showing an elite flash of play? I'd argue no. He did his job, and the sack heading his direction was pure serendipity.

His second sack at 11:05 in the video, 7:36 left in the fourth, looked pretty good. Chris is lined up at right end. It's difficult to say what exactly he did based on the broadcast angle but to me it looks like a stutter step, engaged into the OL's chest and won hand positioning, then maybe a push/pull into a rip, he won the edge as the OT flailed for balance, Chris then flattened out his angle, blindsided sack with a chop at the ball causing the forced fumble into the scoop-and-score. Good shit all around. This is what Chris needs to do more of, stacking and flowing between moves until you win the rep. If you can't win from the jump, you need to handfight cleverly, flowing between counters and stacking maneuvers to win your gap and get pressure.

One thing I've noticed about Chris Braswell, having watched him for a few games now, is he doesn't continue to apply pressure to the edge even if he initially wins versus the offensive tackle. He's too quick in spinning or redirecting to the inside gap; if his hips are past the tackle he needs to flatten out and attack the apex of the pocket. You can see the results of when he does this vs not in the final two minutes of that game.

Well, that was better than before. Later in the game, perhaps playing with better confidence, he looked decent. Still not amazing, but certainly an improvement compared to the prior games.

[Grahamburn]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

[Ken]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

I'm going to bet a discrepancy between what some count as designed QB runs vs scrambles.

Also, interesting how different these stats seem than the film breakdown in the few games. An 18.6% pass rush win rate would be like top 5 in the NFL.

[Grahamburn]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

I'm going to bet a discrepancy between what some count as designed QB runs vs scrambles.

Also, interesting how different these stats seem than the film breakdown in the few games. An 18.6% pass rush win rate would be like top 5 in the NFL.

That makes sense. I did not think of that. He seemed to be pretty good at rushing the passer in pass situations, which is what we need him for. Then you project and hope he can become more. Floor of rotational pass rusher. Ceiling of impact starter.

[Bootz]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

Its interesting that you're even entertaining this for this player specifically. Gonna go out on a limb and suggest you've never before brought this into question with ANY OTHER PLAYER that their statistical data is somehow wrong. You're calling Alabama, the NCAA, most other reputable publications liars and it exclusively revolves around Chris Braswell.

[Bootz]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

I'm going to bet a discrepancy between what some count as designed QB runs vs scrambles.

Also, interesting how different these stats seem than the film breakdown in the few games. An 18.6% pass rush win rate would be like top 5 in the NFL.

Doesn't seem to be a discrepancy anywhere except here....With 1(now 2) posters on this board. You'd have to open Pandora's box and dive deep into every players statistical data to see if it were truly correct or if "there were discrepancies".

[Sdbucs]

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/chris-b ... ft-profile

Weird. PFF credits him with 13 sacks also.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl ... s-braswell

I'm going to bet a discrepancy between what some count as designed QB runs vs scrambles.

Also, interesting how different these stats seem than the film breakdown in the few games. An 18.6% pass rush win rate would be like top 5 in the NFL.

He would be on par with Khalil Mack, Brandom Graham, Andrew Van Ginkel to name a few, or the #9 overall DE player. Garret, Parsons, Bosa, Hutchinson all have pass rush win >20% of the time.

However, he was #27 in pass rush win rate at edge in NCAA last season. Laiatu Latu had a 26% rate. Chop a 20.9% rate. Turner a 19.6% rate.

Nick Bosa had a 26.5% win rate.

Overall it doesn't seem like a very predictive stat as I see a lot of good DEs with a poor rate in college and a lot of random, bad DEs with a high rate.

But at a PFF rating value Laitau seems to be the DE of this year, with Chop in second.