2020 NFL Draft profile: What Michigan guard Ben Bredeson brings to the Baltimore Ravens

Ben Bredeson is just about everything a team can ask for out of a starting offensive lineman. He was a two-time captain of the Michigan Wolverines and has four seasons of starting experience under his belt, making him one of the 2020 NFL Draft’s most reliable guard prospects.

Here is Bredeson’s background and what he brings to the table as a prospect heading into the draft.

Info

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 315 pounds

School: Michigan

Position: Interior offensive lineman

Projected: 3rd-4th round

Combine Results: Did not participate due to hamstring injury

Player Comparison: Connor McGovern

What he brings to the Ravens

Like clockwork, Jim Harbaugh is sending a Wolverine to John Harbaugh. The Baltimore Ravens have crushed this draft so far and were able to grab a potential starting guard a few hours into the last day of the draft in the fourth round. This is a team that wants to run the football and Bredeson is one of this draft’s toughest and smarted interior linemen. This is a great landing spot for him.

Strengths

• Mostly ideal frame and build for the position
• About as smart and as savvy as one could ask for given his 50 career games played with 46 starts at left guard
• Nasty, bruising presence as a run blocker and moves bodies through the whistle...toughness and physicality perhaps the biggest strength to his game
• Fires off the snap out of his stance quickly and helps him win many of his battles at the point of attack...there’s no wasted movements in just about anything he does
• If he is able to get his hands on you, most of those reps are going to go in his favor...defenders found it particularly hard to disengage

Weaknesses

• Footwork in pass protection could use some tweaking and improvements...has a tendency at times to be a little too narrow, which causes him to lose leverage against more explosive rushers
• Athleticism and ability to keep up with quicker defenders has come into question among NFL scouting community
• Has the ability to get out and work in space, but his agility leaves a bit to be desired...this is a guy you want working in a phone booth in one-on-one situations
• Hand placement will need improvement with his initial strikes off the snap...he is a little inconsistent here

Overview

Bredeson might not exactly be the total package from an NFL standpoint due to some of his athletic limitations, but he checks just about every other box on the list. His experience playing in Michigan’s pro-style offense and adjustments to the new system under Josh Gattis in 2019 more than proves that his game translates to the next level. Now, it just becomes a question of how far he can go. At the very least, Bredeson looks like a player who can serve as a key reserve that could potentially even play some tackle in emergency situations. There is starting ability here, though, and his best fit looks to be a team that runs a power scheme where he can work in one-on-one matchups and short areas to push people around.