Bralen Trice scouting report: Exploring the Washington edge defender’s strengths and weaknesses

Despite being one of the top 500 recruits in the 2019 class, Bralen Trice did not have the opportunity to play in his first two years on campus. He redshirted and then had to deal with an injury during his second year. However, in 2021, he was able to start two out of 12 games and made an impact with five tackles for loss, two sacks, and even scoring a touchdown off a fumble recovery.

In both of the following seasons, he was recognized as a first-team All-Pac-12 player, recording a total of 87 tackles, 23.5 TFLs, 16 sacks, two PBUs, and a forced and recovered fumble each.

The individual’s profile consists of a height of 6-foot-4 and a weight of 260 pounds, and they are a redshirt junior.

Analyzing Bralen Trice’s skill set and potential

Defensive Rushing Efficiency:

• Has some real violence in his hands and you see him rock the pads of tight-ends back regularly or stand up tackles
• If the runner tries to hit the B-gap next to him, you see the triceps strength to extend that inside arm and shrink that lane down, while big men bounce around on one leg
• Trying to seal him with a smaller body on the backside typically leads to somebody getting ridden backwards and the cutback lane being taken away
• While we don’t know how much responsibility was put on Bralen Trice chasing plays away from him when left unblocked, we did see him flatten hard down the line and put some big hits on running backs deep in the backfield, even as the quarterback pulled the ball
• Quick to wrong-shoulder and dip underneath pulling guards in order to force the back to bounce out towards his teammates
• Has the contact balance to bounce off bodies and create car collisions around the point of attack
• Recognizes when the offense is trying to pin him down on plays out to the perimeter, fighting over the top and forcing the ball to be cut up inside of him for the rest of the unit to corral
• Consistently chases after the ball once it crosses the line of scrimmage

Defensive Pressure:

• Rushes the passer as if his hair was on fire
• Features a great club-rip move, paired with the flexibility in his ankles to actually get underneath guys and flatten towards the QB
• The force he can deliver with his hand to the inside shoulder of blockers and open up a more direct path for himself as he pulls the opposite arm over really popped, although offenses would constantly have a guard sliding over to help out
• Does a nice job of timing up the punch and recognizing when tackles stop their feet, in order to beat them inside with the high swim and impressive footwork to actually step into the gap simultaneously
• Can stab inside and open up a softer outside edge for himself as he swipes away the hands and corners his rush
• You see Bralen Trice get chipped at times and the tackle sitting back to pick him up off that, where you recognize the force he can build up as he unloads into their chest and bumps them into the quarterback
• Showed the reactionary hand-combats and determination to come free/power through even if double-teamed with a tight-end
• Has those long arms to still be able to swipe at or wrap up the quarterback when it looks like he’s slightly overrun that point
• Not only did Trice unseat Will Anderson Jr. for the most pressures in the country in 2022 (70), but the redshirt sophomore also led all FBS edge defenders in pass-rush win rate (29.5%) and was second in pressure rate (22.4%); Then last season he beat his total with 79 pressures on about 200 additional opportunities, but he was also first in “other pass-rush wins” (38)

Areas of Improvement:

• Peaks inside and loses discipline in his run fits regularly, without the suddenness to disengage and deny them the sideline – which contributes to his 26.1% career missed tackle rate
• Lacks great change-of-direction and re-acceleration to track down the ball-carrier off misdirection or redirecting to the quarterback pulling the ball
• Gets in too many hand-fights if tackles cut off the initial angle for him without a secondary burst to still gain an advantage at the top of the rush
• Needs to transition quicker from run defense to disengaging and getting after the passer off play-action
• Showed up 27 pounds lighter at the combine than expected based on Washington’s roster listing (245 pounds), yet his 4.72 was solid at best, he only measured in with 32.5-inch arms and a quad injury stopped his workout early

Bralen Trice’s Potential as a 2024 NFL Draft Pick

I was taken aback by Bralen Trice’s weight at the combine, as I had always seen him as a strong and dominant player who could overpower opponents. However, his performance in the running drills was not up to par with my expectations.

Although his time may have been slower, I would have preferred to weigh around 270 pounds and complete close to 30 bench-press reps to support the impressions of his abilities that were seen on tape.

Despite the fact that he may not possess the speed to effectively threaten the corner, it is evident that he will need to improve his discipline in the run game. However, I am still confident that he has the potential to excel as a starting strong-side defensive player in an even front or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 base.

Bralen Trice, who hails from Missouri, is the only one in this EDGE class who possesses the same level of power in his hands as Darius Robinson, who joined the class at a weight of 290 pounds. Additionally, Trice has already mastered the technique of connecting his arms and lower body as a pass-rusher.

Despite being considered a mid-second-rounder, he has shown the ability to outplay his draft status by using force to compress the pocket, strategically targeting linemen for spikes to set up his teammates, and exhibiting tenacity in pursuing effort sacks. This solidifies my belief that he will continue to excel and surpass expectations.

The grade is within the top 50.