Trice is NOT Top 50 Worthy
Bralen Trice was a 6’3 225 pound defensive end out of Glendale, Arizona and was a 3 star recruit in the 2019 recruiting class who committed to Washington. Trice opted out of the 2019 season due to covid and worked hard to gain 20 pounds and prepare for the 2020 season where he sat behind Buccaneers former first round pick Joe Tryon, before finally seeing some action in 2021 with 12 games played and 2 starts. In those games, he had 14 tackles and 2 sacks. Then in 2022 he had his breakout season and most successful season as a Husky totaling 39 tackles and 10 sacks. Finally, in 2023 he had 49 tackles with 7 sacks and 2 pass deflections before declaring for the 2024 NFL draft.
Once declaring for the draft, media speculation surrounding Trice managed to pick up. First round buzz and grades from the majority of media it seemed, and those grades just aren't warranted in my opinion. For me, a player in the first round has to have these tangibles for the NFL: long arms, good weight, flexibility, with an athletic upside like quick first step, elite speed, bend, and overall strength. Another way you can generate warranted first round buzz is with incredible technique or being so refined that there's nothing for scouts to nitpick about other than athletic traits. Trice in my opinion, struggles with almost all of those.
Bralen Trice is a good player, but the first round grade baffles me because he is scheme dependent in my opinion. Washington gave him opportunities to set the edge, run off stunts, attack the inside shoulder of lineman, even drop into coverage some. He had the opportunity to show he can do a little bit of everything and he showed that his best work is not as an every down player. He is just not explosive at all. He takes forever to get set, resulting in a terrible burst or ability to explode off the line of scrimmage and him being late to strike and entering a stalemate. The only way he does generate pressure is him just getting downhill, lowering his head and trying to run through the offensive lineman. He does this by generating the strength that he has and attempting speed to power rushes but for him it's really just momentum because he has no speed. He runs heavy, and is slower then Taliese Fuaga who is 6’6 330 and is slower by a good margin. The reason this move is successful is because he has a low pad level and constantly drives his legs, but the tackles don't have to worry about him getting off the blocks even if he drives them back because his arms are not extended at all. In fact, you cannot bend your arms anymore than he does. He has no ability to switch off the bull rush once he commits, leading to pressures and QB hurries but no sack production. Any lineman with good anchors can easily stop him from doing anything which will be a very common occurrence in the NFL. When he tries to extend his arms and set the edge he has zero bend. His pad level does not change. His ankles are not flexible at all and dont allow him any turning point for setting the edge. Resulting in him turning the corner way too late, giving wide open run lanes or the quarterback the ability to scramble and improvise which he's not fast enough to catch.
Now, some of the things that warrant him a late second round grade for me are his hands are fairly active when he's not bull rushing. Whenever he doesn't bull rush and picks his head up and watches the lineman's hands he can strike and use some of his other pass rush moves like a swim, rip,and the occasional spin. Along with his high motor which helps with pushing and collapsing the pocket even if the offensive lineman has control of him. This motor doesn't do him any good because of his inconsistent technique like his pad level being so different with a variety of moves and his hands used way too much or too little.
As a run defender, he is just flat out terrible. His lack of explosiveness means he is driven off the ball fairly consistently and when he is not, he barely helps hold the gaps and can’t get off the block at all. There are plays where he turns his motor on and blows up gaps but he can't shed off to make the play.
He has a role as a pocket collapser on teams, but he is strictly a third down pass rusher and needs stunts to get his motor going because he plays like there's an on and off switch to his motor.
Some teams I think would be good teams to take a risk on him would be…
Arizona Cardinals
Jonathan Gannon, head coach of the Arizona Cardinals is going into his second season and first full season with Kyler Murray and they are going to look to get back to playoff contention this season. Jonathan Gannon runs lots of 5 man okie fronts and uses lots of stunts which loop the DE into the guard as their main way of generating pressure. Gannon starts these alignments with a true nose, 4 tech, 4i, the edge rushers in a 7 or 9 technique. Because of this, the offensive line is forced to slide protection to the side of the 4 technique creating a one on one matchup for the edge rusher with a tight end which Trice would absolutely bully a tight end one on one. When they run their stunts, the 4 techs take on tackle and guard or tackle and tight end leaving the edge to find a crease and get downhill through the gap and either rip through guard or center. Trice knows how to find a crease and could work on the rip, leading to him probably being a solid rotational piece for a young defense. The cardinals have 4 picks on day 2 as well, however one of them is a glorified first round pick at 35, which is too early for Trice however. They also hold picks 66, 71, and 90 which would all be prime picks to use select to select Bralen Trice.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders defense under new head coach Dan Quinn is a match made in heaven. He would be good in Dan Quinn's defense because he could play the Dorance Armstrong role for Dan Quinn. Dorance was the third pass rusher in the rotation who was there to disrupt the pocket with a solid bull rush. Scheme wise Dan Quinn lets his lineman be stand up or hand in the dirt but I think Trice sticks to stand up because of how late he gets set. The Cowboys, where Dan Quinn was the defensive coordinator in 2023, ran lots of movement to get Micah Parsons one on one, so the Commanders will need to find there new stud pass rusher after moving on from Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the 2023 deadline to play the Micah Parsons role. The Cowboys moved around a lot pre snap which could help with some of Trices’ late issues because he will already be warmed up and moving around. After this pre snap movement by Cowboys’ lineman they would have loopers, traditional TE stunts, some TT stunts on guaranteed passing downs. Trice would be able to slide in and understand the defense well because it's similar to what he did at Washington. Now, the Commanders have 4 picks on day 2 of the NFL Draft. 2 of them are basically first round picks without the fifth year option (36,40) and in the 3rd round they pick at 67 and 100. If they want to land Trice it will most likely involve a trade down from one of their top second round picks or try and trade up to low 60s to jump the Arizona Cardinals. I doubt Trice falls to pick 100 but if he does they should absolutely jump on him at 100 and it would be a slam dunk.
Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is a great defensive mind in today's NFL. He gameplans for the team and decides his defensive game plan based on opponent not trying to fix his scheme to counter opponents. His scheme is the ultimate trickster for opposing QBs. There's games he only rushes 3 and then there's games he is blitzing or wreaking havoc upon the offensive line. I think Trice would fit really well as another piece for the bengals. They did however, just spend a first round pick on Myles Murphy in 2023 so I believe value wise it would only make sense for Cincinnati if Trice was available in the third round. The only draft pick they currently hold that would make sense to select Trice, would be 80th overall, which would be exceptional value.
New York Giants
New Giants Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will be looking for players who fit his system and mid-late round edge rushers. Shane Bowens' stunts need guys who can control interior lineman and tackles. Trice has the size and strength to rush inside but also has the brain to rush outside and hold for others. The Giants pick at 36, 47, and 70 on day 2 of the 2024 Draft. With them being another team who have a glorified first round pick, (36) pick 47 would be the earliest I can see Trice going and would be very beneficial for Trice because of how well he fits new Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.