We’ve got 90 days to go until the New Orleans Saints open up their 2024 season with a Week 1 kickoff game against the Carolina Panthers, so we’re continuing our countdown with the No. 90 jersey’s current owner: defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. Last year’s first round draft pick enjoyed a strong rookie season, so let’s break it down:
- Name (Age): Bryan Bresee (30)
- Position: Defensive end
- Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 305 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 9.62
- 2024 salary cap hit: $2,787,171
- College: Clemson
- Drafted: First round in 2023 (New Orleans Saints)
- NFL experience: 2 seasons
Bresee was active in all 17 games last year, totaling 4.5 sacks and 9 quarterback hits with 7 tackles for loss and 6 passes defensed. He had 24 combined tackles. He was consistently pressuring quarterbacks and making plays in the backfield. So how can he level up in 2024?
The big priority for Bresee now is improving his run defense. He needs to do a better job anchoring against advancing blockers and plugging lanes to reroute ball carriers. He played too high at times as a rookie which led to him getting pushed off the line of scrimmage. The Saints limited his snaps accordingly, with Bresee playing 391 snaps on passing downs against 148 on running downs. He needs to prove to his coaches that they can trust him when the offense is looking to run the football. If he can do that, he’ll surpass veterans ahead of him on the depth chart like Nathan Shepherd (303 snaps in run defense) and Khalen Saunders (276).
