Chris Braswell is a name to watch at the Senior Bowl this week. The Bucs need edge help after their entire outside linebacker room combined for just 143 pressures and 24 sacks per Pro Football Focus.

Alabama OLB Chris Braswell – Photo by: USA Today

Shaq Barrett is a likely cut candidate and while Yaya Diaby had a solid rookie season, going into 2024 with him and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka as starters is less than ideal.

Chris Braswell Background

Braswell is a true senior from the University of Alabama. He was a top-2 high school recruit from the state of Maryland and was a top 15 recruit overall. Braswell was highly recruited and chose Alabama over Georgia, Clemson and LSU.

He has just three years of playtime as he did not see the field in 2020. In 2021 he was mostly a special teamer (blocked a punt) where he played 52 snaps as compared to 114 on defense. During his limited time on defense, he was able to generate 11 pressures and one sack in just 68 pass rush snaps. In 2022 he tripled his defensive snap count while generating 30 pressures and four sacks and recording a pass rush win rate of 23.0% on true pass rush sets working as a rotational rusher behind Dallas Turner and Will Anderson.

Braswell cracked the starting lineup this past year and had his most efficient season to date. His 49 pressures ranked 16th in the FBS, and his 13 sacks ranked tied for 6th. Braswell ended his Alabama career with 97 pressures, 63 hurries, 16 quarterback hits and 18 sacks per and a pressure rate of 17.3% Pro Football Focus.

Chris Braswell Scouting Report

Braswell works off of a good frame at 6’3 and 257 pounds.

pic.twitter.com/A7U6zQnBrw

— Reese’s Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) January 29, 2024

Strengths

He squeezes every bit of power he can out of that physique. Braswell is a power rusher through and through. His favorite way to win is through an offensive lineman as he relies primarily on a long-arm and a push-pull as his go to moves. While his upper body and grip strength are undeniable, I worry about how well his long arm will translate to the NFL level. Per Mockdraftables the mean arm length for an edge usher historically is just over 33.5″.

Alabama OLB Chris Braswell – Photo by: USA

Braswell has strong leg drive that helps him convert speed to power easily. He is not afraid to work inside on offensive tackles and will use his bull rush to play through their inside shoulder, causing disruption through the pocket.

He is a good run defender who willingly takes on and stones pullers much larger than he is. Braswell seems to take joy in lowering his shoulder and blowing up pulling guards. He is a cerebral player who is constantly diagnosing movement around him to discern where a play is headed. This helps him work well on the backside of plays, blow up misdirection schemes and find backs who are late coming into a route concept.

Weaknesses

Braswell is not a fluid mover and lacks ideal bend that you would want to see from someone rushing from the edge. Because of that he does not win quick from the outside very often. And when he does it is usually because he was able to beat his man off the ball and to a spot before turning his hips to cut the corner. This lack of bend will most likely cap his ceiling at the NFL level.

His cerebral nature does have a downside as he diagnoses plays more than reacts to them instinctually. This leaves him a tick slow in changing gears and speeds as he has to shift to different roles throughout the rep. Ultimately, while he is strong and powerful, I’m not sure that it is a strong enough strength to help carry him to a plus player at the next level. That was something that was on display today at the Senior Bowl as Barton went up against Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.

Another big time rep from Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton. This is against Alabama rusher Chris Braswell, who is a projected top-50 pick. https://t.co/S718wi6MDT

— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) January 30, 2024

Overall Outlook

Braswell’s game reminds me a lot of current Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby’s game. Both are physically impressive power rushers who lack ankle and hip flexibility to consistently be an outside threat. However, both can be key contributors to an edge room that looks for athleticism and the ability to both work in space and win inside against bigger-bodied guards.

I currently have a third-round grade on Braswell, and he is currently the third EDGE on my board out of four evaluated.