2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: LSU EDGE Bradyn Swinson
All my scouting notes on the strengths, concerns, usage/role, skill set summary, NFL comparison and grade/projection for LSU EDGE Bradyn Swinson
LSU EDGE Bradyn Swinson
Height: 6-4
Weight: 250
Birthdate: 1/14/03 (22 year-old rookie)
Production: 43 games, 13.5 sacks, 24 TFL, 3 FFs
Injuries: None
Games Watched: South Carolina, UCLA, Oklahoma, Baylor, Florida, Alabama
Strengths
• Physically and athletically he might not be elite, but still absolutely checks the boxes in all key areas
• Some of the best speed-to-power rushes in the class. Absolutely rocked offensive linemen in almost every game, several different body types too
• Peak violence and aggression player, even to his detriment at times
• Physicality is unquestioned, but also has the finesse moves to beat tackles on their outside edge. Cross chops, euro chops, ghost moves, double swipes are all in his repertoire
• When he wins first contact, hang on. He’ll try to toss you or pancake you if he can
• Does a great job getting his toes pointed to the quarterback at the top of the route, more of a leaner than a bender, but cornered really well consistently in college
• Burst and arc speed are where they need to be to threaten tackles off the snap
• Good with his near hand to knock down punches and trim the edge to the quarterback
• This guy will try anything to get to the quarterback. Tried a fake inside spin into an edge attack against Oklahoma that nearly worked, lost his balance a bit on the finish but still got pressure
• “No plays off” type of player. Had one of the great hustle plays of the season running down a Baylor receiver short of the goal line on an extended play
• Good quick awareness to find the ball and identify schemes when unblocked at the line of scrimmage. Excellent urgency and technique taking on pullers with wrong arms and spilling runs to his teammates
• Will run through a wall as a crasher to open up a stunt for a teammate
• Run defense is a mixed bag of results, but really like how much effort he puts into taking on every block. Alabama game has some great examples (and some of his worst plays too!)
Concerns
• Pad level isn’t always on point. Needs to do a better job of playing leveraged and using full extension to lock out blockers, shed quicker
• Can even get tied up with tight ends at times because his technique isn’t consistent at holding the point. Ducks his head into blockers and gets into body-to-body wrestling matches too often. Guys who can out-technique him had success in run game
• Doesn’t look small on tape, but definitely struggled to hold his ground when teams ran right at him
• Gets out over his skis as a rusher and can get push-pulled or fall forward in his attack
• Has good pass rush athletic traits, but lack of elite bend in his hips definitely shows up at times when tackles sit on his outside move
• If he can figure out counter rushes, he could level up. So focused on his one initial move that he often totally sells out, and can get eliminated from the play completely if it doesn’t work
• Can sense the immaturity in his game at times - reckless hits on quarterbacks in head/neck area, lots of complaining to officials about not getting calls. Threw a fit after a bad no-call against Oklahoma after complaining frequently earlier in the game
Ideal Role/Usage
Swinson is a true edge defender who can stand up or play with his hand down. The question will be whether he can hold up on early downs, or has to play in a rotation early in his career. I think he’ll be mostly a pass rusher to begin his career, but I won’t count out a blossoming into a full-time starter with better technique for run game work.
Summary
In a class full of dogs at this position, Swinson might be the most relentlessly competitive of them all. The level of effort and intensity that he exerts on the field at all times is highly impressive, and helped turn him into one of the better speed-to-power rushes in the country despite his size. No rusher in the class blew up more tackles at the point of contact than Swinson, and that wasn’t even always his go-to move!
The most exciting thing about Swinson’s game outside of his physicality and effort is the variety of ways he wins as a pass rusher. Even with a slight recoil in his first step, Swinson is explosive out of his stance and fast up the arc to threaten the edge. While he’s not an Abdul Carter-level bend or forward lean rusher, Swinson does an awesome job maintaining his speed through the top of the rush and cornering to the pocket. His hands are well-developed and timed to soften the edge and create better angles too.
When you combine that cornering ability with his power and even the occasional inside move, you get a skill set that should be valuable in today’s NFL. Now, Swinson is devoid of a counter game, and has to avoid selling out 110 percent on every initial rush plan he tries. He’ll lose contain at times, and can get knocked off balance at times because his heart is moving faster than his feet. More development is needed, but the starting point in the NFL as a pass rusher is really exciting.
In the run game, Swinson is hit-or-miss. He makes some incredible stops on tape, fighting like crazy to overcome blockers, knifing into the backfield, identifying a shovel pass off an option run fake and blowing it up, wrong-arming pullers to spill runs to his teammates. There is absolutely good stuff on tape, and his level of fight is admirable. But you can’t help but walk away from a few games (Alabama, Florida) worried about how tight ends took it to him at times in the run game, and that on any given play Swinson could be on the ground because his size, length, pad level and technique aren’t always ideal.
I think NFL teams will see him as a pure pass rusher more than anything, which is probably for the best. Those guys are very valuable around the league these days, and Swinson loves to play with his ears pinned back and get after it. He was a late bloomer in college, but has a pro-ready skill set to contribute right away, as an individual rusher or as part of the team concept. He’s a madman on the field, and there are almost always room for those types of players in a front four rotation.
Grade/Projection
I expect Swinson’s stock to pick up steam through the pre-draft process, unless he bombs the Combine. I currently have a late second round grade on him.