Chris Braswell, Edge Alabama: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Braswell was a five-star recruit from Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md. in the class of 2020

Alabama pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner have grabbed headlines over the past two years, but Chris Braswell is also a bonafide star. After a breakout season, Braswell projects as a second round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Chris Braswell, Edge Alabama: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior outside linebacker Baltimore, Md.

Background: Braswell was a five-star recruit from Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 19 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 24 for Rivals, and No. 15 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him seventh in the nation with a 91 grade out of 100. According to 247Sports, Braswell recorded 13 sacks and three forced fumbles as a senior and 12 sacks with three forced fumbles as a sophomore. He was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game.

Injuries & Off-Field: Ejected vs. Chattanooga (2023) for targeting

Awards: N/A

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, field goal block, and field goal units, arm length will meet thresholds, plays with a competitive pad level, good explosiveness off the line, physical and violent rusher, decent pop and power in his hands, shoots the B-gap when tackles overset, inside speed rush, attacks the tackle’s hands, forklift move, pins the tackle’s outside arm, snatch-rip, snatch-swipe, cross-chop, club-rip, long-arm move, bull rush into an inside swim counter, hump counter off a chop, converts speed to power, power overwhelmed Texas A&M (2023), seems to have the strength to anchor at the point of attack, separates from blocks and redirects to the football in the run game, flows down the line to the football, closing speed

Cons: Penalized three times in 2023 so far, not a nimble or twitchy player, arm length is good but not great, limited bend, leans on tackles and plays with inconsistent balance working up the arc, pushed up and around the pocket, loses momentum on stunts, slow to adapt to lineman’s quick hands, should add more hand counters, proper framing from linemen demolishes his half-man rush, inconsistent winning in full-man relationships, bull rush and power in hands are inconsistent, long-arm nullified by powerful tackles, struggled to play through the frames of Texas’ stout tackles (2023), didn’t match Christian Jones’ strength (2023), slow to shed blocks in the run game, aggressiveness leads to abandoning gap integrity, hoped to see more quick wins against tight ends in the run game, sealed in the run game, struggles to re-anchor once he starts giving ground, displaced by double teams

Overview: Braswell has special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, field goal block, and field goal units. He primarily lines up in a two-point stance as a 4 and 5-tech and wide 9 rusher but occasionally puts his hand in the dirt. Braswell’s arm length isn’t elite, but it will meet the league’s thresholds. He is an elite athlete who appeared on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List for The Athletic in 2022 and 2023. According to Feldman, Braswell jumped 38.5 inches in the vertical and squatted 705 pounds as a junior. He reaches speeds up to 21.9 miles per hour and bench presses and hang-cleans 405 pounds. Braswell explodes off the line with a competitive pad level. He shoots through the B-gap with an inside speed rush when tackles overset. The senior is a physical and violent rusher who displays decent pop and power in his hands. He attacks the tackle’s hands with a forklift move and attempts to pin the lineman’s outside arm when working around the edge. His other pass rush moves and combinations include snatch-rips, snatch-swipes, cross-chops, club-rips, a hump counter off a chop, a long-arm move, and a bull rush into an inside swim counter. Braswell also converts speed to power. He physically overwhelmed Texas A&M in 2023 but struggled to play through the frames of Texas’ future NFL tackles. Longhorns right tackle Christian Jones, in particular, gave Braswell some issues with power and play strength. Braswell is inconsistent at winning in full-man relationships. His bull rush and power in his hands are inconsistent, and his long-arm move gets nullified by sturdy linemen. Additionally, Braswell isn’t a nimble or twitchy player. He lacks the bend to win around the outside consistently. Agile linemen push the Maryland native up and around the pocket. He is still learning to adapt to the lineman’s hand placement and framing on the fly and will benefit from adding more hand counters to his rush. Braswell seems to have the strength to anchor at the point of attack. He uses his violent hands to separate from blocks and redirect to the football with great closing speed. However, he is slow to shed blocks in the run game and abandons his gap while attempting to work toward the quarterback. Braswell struggles to re-anchor once he starts giving ground and is displaced by double teams.

Overall, Braswell is a powerful, athletically gifted rusher with a well-developed arsenal of pass rush moves. More experience should help him process and react quicker in the run game. He needs to continue refining his rush moves and counters to keep NFL linemen capable of matching his raw power on their toes.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Second Round

Size: 6'3", 255 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 11-22-23