Christian Braswell 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Background: 

• Transferred to Rutgers from the Temple program for redshirt senior season

• Wore a coveted single-digit number for the Owls in 2020, signifying toughness and leadership

• Ran 11.4s in the 100m dash in high school, finishing third in state championships
• Missed 2021 season with a knee injury

System: 

• Scheme tendencies: Even front, heavy blend of zone coverages, aggressive LB blitzing
• 2022 projected role: Starting perimeter CB

Pros: Christian Braswell will be a good fit for Greg Schiano’s zone-heavy defensive system in 2022. Coming from Temple, Braswell was asked to play both in the nickel and as an outside cornerback in 2020 and showcased desirable foot speed, short-area agility, and a second gear to recover if transitions allowed for initial separation. Furthermore, Braswell has shown the ability to sniff out the football in coverage with several quality challenges on the football in coverage—he’s made a number of acrobatic plays to contort or extend to the football. Braswell has the necessary scrap to play and succeed despite suboptimal size for the position and complements that fiery attitude with reps on the kickoff team as recently as this past season with Temple. He’s at his best in space, so playing in a zone-heavy secondary should set him up for a successful and productive final season in CFB. 

Cons: While he’s plenty scrappy and tough, physicality isn’t a great hallmark of his game and he doesn’t project well as a man-to-man cover option or someone who will play a lot of press coverage. Christian Braswell’s run support is modest and his consistency finishing as a tackler makes one question if he projects well in that critical role where fitting up the run is a must. Braswell lacks length and will be vulnerable to back-shoulder throws and 50/50 balls on the outside against bigger cornerbacks as well, making him a bit of a tweener for the next-level projection. The return of his athletic profile will be something to monitor as well, as Braswell’s evaluation is based on 2019 and 2020 tape ahead of his knee injury that cost him all of 2021.

Christian Braswell NFL Draft Scouting Report by Kyle Crabbs