Welcome to the 21st daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will be April 27-29, in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 21: BRYAN BRESEE
Clemson defensive tackle
Bresee is the No. 21-rated player on Pro Football Focus' big board. Our Chris Halicke believes Bresee is the guy for the Steelers at pick No. 17 as a result of the top three offensive tackles and the top three cornerbacks off the board, though the 300-pounder could be what the Steelers are looking for on the defensive interior.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
The top overall recruit in the class of 2020, Bresee burst onto the scene as a Freshman All-American, the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, and a first-team All-ACC choice as he made an instant impact on Dabo Swinney's defense. His sophomore season took a turn, however, as he tore his ACL after just four games in 2021 and saw what could have been a promising season come to a close after a strong start of 15 tackles and three for loss.
He rebounded for a solid 2022 season to shoot his draft stock back up. He played in 10 games and started in seven, totaling 16 tackles, 5.5 for loss, to go with 3.5 sacks and two pass breakups. He was named to the All-ACC second team.
Bresee was one of one in terms of prospect rankings out of high school out of Damascus, Md. The 247Sports composite rated him No. 1 overall in the class, and he earned a comparison to three-time All-Pro Ndamukong Suh.
Based on 247Sports' scoring model, Bresee checks in as the 18th-highest-rated recruit dating to 2000.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
If there was any question about whether his ACL injury is healed up, Bresee's 4.86 40-yard dash was fourth-best among defensive tackles who ran at the NFL Combine. His 29-inch vertical was seventh among Combine defensive tackles.
While the 22 bench press reps at the Combine were underwhelming for Bresee, he improved that number by six, up to 28, at Clemson's pro day.
His 7.41 three-cone time would have been fourth-fastest among Combine DTs, and his 4.45 short shuttle would have been the fastest among Combine DTs.
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker has Bresee going at No. 26 overall to Dallas, with an average draft slotting at 25.33. Our own latest mock draft has Bresee going to the Steelers at No. 17 overall.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
There are larger needs for the Steelers to address, but following Chris' logic from his mock draft, Bresee would fit in as a 3-4 tackle with versatility to boot. He heard comparisons of Cam Heyward while he was at the Combine, so we'll run with it. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan were at the Clemson pro day, though they spent more time with defensive end Myles Murphy and linebacker Trenton Simpson, the latter later saying he had dinner with Tomlin and Steelers personnel.
COREY'S TAKE
Defensive tackle is a need for the Steelers, but going for one in the first round over offensive lineman or cornerback would not seem ideal in terms of value and priority. That said, the top two defensive tackle prospects are Bresee and Pitt's Calijah Kancey -- order them how you might -- and the Steelers going for a defensive tackle at any relatively early point should net in one of these two, whether it be at 17 or pick No. 32 overall.
Bresee is in the "if you absolutely need this position, make sure you get this guy" territory when it comes to this draft class.
THE REST
1. Alabama QB Bryce Young
2. Georgia DT Jalen Carter
3. Alabama DE Will Anderson Jr.
4. Kentucky QB Will Levis
5. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
6. Florida QB Anthony Richardson
7. Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
8. Texas Tech DE Tyree Wilson
9. TCU WR Quentin Johnston
10. Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez
11. Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski
12. Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
13. Pitt DT Calijah Kancey
14. Iowa DE Lukas Van Ness
15. Utah TE Dalton Kincaid
16. Maryland CB Deonte Banks
17. Alabama S Brian Branch
18. Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr.
19. Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr.
20. Tennessee OT Darnell Wright
