2024 Exclusive Sneak Peek: Chris Braswell, Edge, Alabama
Welcome to the Exclusive Sneak Peek: Chris Braswell, edge rusher out of Alabama. He is from Baltimore, MD, and was a 4-star recruit out of St. Frances Academy High School.
He started his freshman season in 2021 with Alabama with minimal production. In 14 games, he recorded 7 solo tackles, 6 assists, and 1 tackle for loss.
The 2022 season was slightly more productive for him as a junior, but not by much. He appeared in 13 games, recording 8 solo tackles, 12 assists, 20 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.
His best season came in 2023 as a senior where in 14 games, he totaled 16 solo tackles, 26 assists, 10.5 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 1 interception, 1 touchdown, 1 pass defended, and 3 forced fumbles.
Measurables
NCAA Statistics
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| *2020 | Alabama | SEC | FR | LB | |||||||||||||||
| *2021 | Alabama | SEC | SO | LB | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2022 | Alabama | SEC | JR | 13 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| *2023 | Alabama | SEC | SR | LB | 14 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 10.5 | 8.0 | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Career | Alabama | 31 | 44 | 75 | 15.5 | 10.5 | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
Scouting Reports
Strengths
- He is great at winning on the boundary against receivers of all sizes.
- Has excellent awareness and anticipation in coverage in all areas of the field.
- Great closing speed and an ability to be a ball-hawk and make a play on the ball in all situations.
- Has strong potential off the edge as a pass rusher with great size and speed.
Weaknesses
- Tends to be overly aggressive and leaves himself vulnerable to being beaten with deep throws.
- Has poor technique on open-field tackles and needs serious work and coaching.
- He can be easily fooled with misdirection and trickery and overcommits routinely.
- Has immense talent but needs to work on his overall technique, relies too heavily on natural ability.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Expected Draft Capital: Early-to-Mid 2nd Round
Ideal Landing Spot: Detroit Lions
The Lions have Aidan Hutchinson who was an absolute beast for them this season, what they are in desperate need of is a versatile defender who can chip in on the edges when Hutchinson is being double-teamed.
The Lions have been terrible defensively all year long and need an upgrade at essentially every position on the defensive side of the ball.
Braswell may not have the ceiling of Hutchinson or rookie Brian Branch, but he could be a solid contributor to re-vamping this defense.
Post-Draft Analysis
Pick 2.57 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Braswell
