Goodbye, Ben Bredeson

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HIGH SCHOOL
Bredeson committed to Michigan over Wisconsin (a surprising move for a Wisconsin native), and here’s what I had to say about him at the time (LINK):

Overall, I think Bredeson is a player who could slide in at all five positions. He can stay low enough to maintain leverage at the interior positions, and he has the foot quickness to block guys on the edge. I do not see him being an elite left tackle prospect like, say, Taylor Lewan because Bredeson just lacks the length and athleticism that Lewan had. He needs to get in the weight and learn some new technique, and then I think he can be a mauler for a powerful offense. He’s a potential All-Big Ten player.

I gave him a TTB Rating of 88, and he was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 offensive tackle, and #39 overall.

Hit the jump for more.

COLLEGE
According to Jim Harbaugh, Bredeson was neck-and-neck with Grant Newsome to start at left tackle as a freshman. Ultimately, Bredeson began the year as a backup on the interior, eventually starting eight games at left guard once Newsome suffered a career-ending injury and the Wolverines moved Ben Braden from left guard to left tackle. Left guard is where Bredeson would stay for the remainder of his career, playing in 49 total games and starting 45. He was a two-time team captain, for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

CAREER STATS
49 career games played (45 starts)

AWARDS
Team captain (2018, 2019)
All-American (Walter Camp 2nd team in 2019, AP 3rd team in 2019)
All-Big Ten (1st team in 2019, 2nd team in 2018 and 2019)

SUMMARY
Bredeson was a steady player throughout his career. In my recap of Jon Runyan, Jr.’s career (LINK), I said Runyan was what I grew up expecting from a lineman (not playing at all, playing some, and then playing really well in his last year or two). Bredeson, on the other hand, was that somewhat new-age guy who plays a lot as a youngster and then just plays like a pro for the remainder of his career. Bredeson was not an absolute mauler who destroyed an interior defensive line, but he was a consistently good player.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR…
..being a Steady Eddie. Bredeson had his share of slip-ups, and I thought he probably got more credit in 2017 than he deserved. But the left side of Michigan’s offensive line was pretty dang reliable for the past two years (aside from when Ryan Hayes had to start at left tackle), and Bredeson was 50% of that.

PROJECTION
Bredeson was ranked as an offensive tackle coming out of high school, and he could have pulled that off in college. But as he transitions to the NFL, I think that window is gone. He has been working on his snapping some, and it’s always good as a guard to have the ability to snap the ball and be a swing player, but his future is probably at guard. Much like his college career, I do not expect to see him dominate on the NFL level, but I think he will go in the middle rounds (4th round or so) and have a lengthy NFL career.

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