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

One of the 500 top recruits in the 2019 class, Bralen Trice didn’t see any action first two years at campus, redshirting and then dealing with an injury(?) respectively. In 2021 he started two of 12 games, recording five tackles for loss, two sacks and returning a fumble for a long touchdown.

The following two seasons he was named first-team All-Pac-12 respectively with a combined 87 tackles, 23.5 TFLs, 16 sacks, two PBUs, a fumble forced and recovered each.

Profile: 6-foot-4, 260 pounds; RS JR.

Breaking down Bralen Trice's scouting report

Bralen Trice: NFL Combine

Run defense:

• 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

Pass-rush:

• 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)

Weaknesses:

• 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 2024 NFL Draft prospect

Bralen Trice: NFL Combine

I was shocked to see Bralen Trice show up as light as he did at the combine, because I looked at him as such a power-based player who could overwhelm blockers and then he didn’t even run well.

While his time would of course have been worse, I would’ve preferred to come in around 270 pounds and pump out close to 30 reps on the bench-press to back up what his profile on tape looks like.

So we know he’s not really going to threaten the corner with speed and he’ll need to become more disciplined in the run game, but I still believe he can be quality starter as strong-side defensive in an even front or outside backer in a 3-4 base.

Nobody in this EDGE class outside of Missouri’s Darius Robinson – who came in around 290 pounds – packs more violence in his hands and then Bralen Trice is already so advanced with linking his arms and lower body as a pass-rusher.

Whether it’s condensing the pocket with force, setting up teammates by spiking into linemen and/or disengaging late for effort sacks, he’s likely going to outplay his draft status now, which I still value him as a mid-second-rounder.

Grade: Top 50