Ben Bredeson NFL Draft 2020: Scouting Report for Baltimore Ravens' Pick

OG Ben Bredeson, Michigan 

STRENGTHS

—Four-year starter for Michigan who was the definition of durability and logged plenty of snaps against high-caliber competition. 

—Has strong ability to process on the field; is comfortable diagnosing pre- and post-snap movements.

—Overall frame looks built for life in the trenches; has a rolled chest, wide shoulders and the adequate thickness throughout his entire body to compete right away in the NFL.

—Apparent power and play strength, and he's comfortable fighting pressure with pressure; when able to get hands inside in the run game, has more than enough power throughout his hips to unlock and drive with dominance. 

—Sturdy and purposeful punch in pass protection.

—Down blocks are his calling card; able to punish shaded defenders with appropriate pad level, hat placement and powerful hands that can uproot defenders.

—Methodical pass-protection technique; goes through each rep like he's checking off a list for success.

—Comfortable working various sets, getting to his spot, posting with a kickstand and keeping his hands framed tight.

Ben Bredeson Highlights

00:43

WEAKNESSES

—Limited overall athleticism gets uglier as he gets farther out of the box; much more comfortable working in a vertical line and will struggle when asked to reach laterally and run.

—Slow out of his stance in both phases, which leads to him having to speed up his process; would be even more productive if he exploded consistently on the snap.

—Change-of-direction skills appear to be limited, and he'll struggle when asked to consistently mirror defenders with speed-counters at the line of scrimmage; once he's posted, he doesn't like to have to do it again.

—Hand placement in the run game gets a little engulfing, which exposes his chest; defenders that can stay square and punch tight will be able to win the leverage battle, particularly on reach blocks, where he gets too high and off-balance.

OVERALL 

Bredeson spent the last three-and-a-half seasons entrenched as the starting left guard for Michigan. With a fiery head coach and a starting role at an historic program, there's no concern about his competitive toughness or readiness for the NFL. While he isn't the best athlete in space, he has all of the desired thickness and power to win ugly inside. Bredeson doesn't do anything at an elite level, but there are almost no unrecoverable flaws to his game. He projects as a valuable backup immediately and could challenge for a starting role as a rookie. He can improve all of his technical flaws on the fly, and there's still plenty of time for him to hit his technical and physical peaks.

GRADE: 69

PRO COMPARISON: Richie Incognito/Joshua Garnett