Cardinals take Clemson DT Bryan Bresee in McShay’s 1st mock draft

While the Arizona Cardinals still have four games remaining in the regular season, some have already started looking ahead to 2023.

At 4-9, the team will officially finish under .500 for the first time since head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s and quarterback Kyler Murray’s rookie years at their respective positions in 2019.

ESPN’s Todd McShay on Tuesday released predictions for the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft, which will only feature 31 selections after the Miami Dolphins were stripped of their first pick due to tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Cardinals will wind up having the No. 10 overall pick come April.

And with that selection, McShay has Arizona taking defensive tackle Bryan Bresee out of Clemson.

Defensive linemen J.J. Watt and Zach Allen are both free agents after this season, and Leki Fotu is set to follow after 2023. Bresee could help fill that need on a struggling defense. His numbers won’t wow you, and he missed some time this season, but when he’s 100%, Bresee is an incredibly talented run-stuffer with the length and bend to make a big impact and play a role as an interior pass-rusher. Cornerback (Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr.) and edge rusher (Myles Murphy, Bresee’s teammate at Clemson) could make sense, too.

In this version of McShay’s mock draft, his first for 2023, Bresee is the second interior defensive lineman to be drafted after the NFC West division rival Seattle Seahawks took Georgia DT Jalen Carter No. 2 overall (via the Denver Broncos).

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Bresee registered 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and seven quarterback pressures in nine games for the Tigers this past season.

He also had five tackles (four solo), 1.0 sack and 2.5 tackles for loss in the College Football Playoff semifinal game against QB Justin Fields and Ohio State in 2020-21.

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