From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Tennessee DL Bryson Eason.
No. 20 BRYSON EASON/DL TENNESSEE – 6-2, 323 POUNDS (RS SENIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Bryson Eason 6-2/323 10″ 33 1/8″ 78 3/4″
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
5.09 1.80 5.0 DNP
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
9’4″ 30.5″ DNP
THE GOOD
– Brings a lot of quickness to the position as a former linebacker
– Quick off the ball with well-timed get off
– Maintains a low pad level against the run, helps make up for lack of play strength
– Shows off impressive speed when looping inside on stunts
– Keeps hands quick and active throughout plays
– Clean and quick footwork
– Good at standing linemen up, keeping low pad level and extending arms up into their chest
– Impressive burst and quickness in short areas, changes direction quicker than most DL
– A bit of positional versatility across the LOS
– Can read run plays when he’s able to extend on blockers, good at moving laterally to fill gaps
– Plenty of SEC-level starting experience without injury concerns
THE BAD
– Tries to go around blocks a little too often, which will take him away from his gap responsibility
– Struggles to maintain anchor against bigger linemen and double teams, might be a liability in short-yardage situations
– Will need to learn to die slowly at the NFL level, can get taken out of plays too often if he doesn’t win off the snap
– Lack of overall play strength
– Just 4.5 career sacks, including zero in 2025
– Struggles to counter once sealed off
– Effort is there, but he needs more of a pass-rushing plan at the next level
STATS
– Career: 105 tackles, 22.0 TFL, 4.5 sacks, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries
– 2021: three tackles, 2.0 TFL,
– 2022: 18 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery
– 2023: 27 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, one pass defended
– 2024: 24 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, one pass defended
– 2025: 31 tackles, 4.5 TFL, three passes defended, one fumble recovery
– 61 career games, 34 starts, 1,520 total snaps, all with Tennessee
INJURY HISTORY
– 2024: Left game against Arkansas early with apparent lower-body injury, but returned the following week
BACKGROUND
– DOB: January 21st, 2002 (24-years old)
– Hometown: Memphis, TN
– Graduated from Whitehaven High School in Memphis, TN
– Committed to Tennessee ahead of 2020 season, remained at school through 2025
– Earned bachelor’s degree in Communications in 2024
– Rated four-star linebacker coming out of high school
– Committed as inside linebacker, moved to outside linebacker in 2020, then defensive end in 2021, and finally settled at defensive tackle in 2022
– Didn’t mind switching positions at Tennessee, wanted to “embrace” the move
– Tennessee teammates refer to him as a “real good person” and someone who’s “never negative”
– His big brother passed away in a car accident, and Eason mentioned playing hard with him in mind, hoping to make his brother proud
– Called himself a “Vol for life”, stuck with team after three-win season in 2020
– Considered it a “blessing” to play College Football at the age of 23
TAPE BREAKDOWN
As a former linebacker, Bryson Eason is still figuring out how to play on the interior. But that does give him a level of quickness that some blockers can’t handle. Unfortunately, he trusts it a little too much at times.
Eason is lined up in the A-gap on the right side of the frame. He likes to try to dance around guards, and his agility makes that work at times. But he doesn’t have quite enough strength to fight back once linemen are able to seal him off. And once that happens, he loses gap responsibility. It’s possible that the edge defender to the right of Eason here is supposed to loop inside on a stunt, but Eason doesn’t go too wide anyway. What he does do is take himself out of the play.
The lack of overall strength is sometimes difficult for Eason to overcome. But one way to combat that is to keep a low pad level, and that’s an area in which Eason’s technique has improved.
This play isn’t anything major. Eason is over the b-gap to the left side, and he’s going against a tackle that’s a decent amount bigger than him. Yet, Eason does very well. He keeps a low pad level and sticks his arm up into the tackle. He forces the tackle off balance and keeps his distance as he reads what’s going on in the backfield. Eason helps his defense swallow things up, and the play ends in a safety.
Eason has a lot of burst off the line of scrimmage, and he’s never slow to react to the snap. There are times when he jumps all over guards before they have a chance to react.
This is one of those instances. Eason side steps the guard right off the snap to get into the backfield. If not for a teammate getting pushed into him, he’d be in great position to make a play here.
As a former linebacker, Eason plays with a lot more speed than most interior defensive linemen. There were times Tennessee liked to line him up on the edge and have him loop inside on a stunt.
His speed shows up here, and he just moves really fast for the position. And while he’s certainly not big for the position, he has the strength to put a jolt into running backs trying to pick him up. This is a good rep from the back, but Eason still jolts him back a bit.
Against typically bigger offensive linemen, things are naturally harder for him. In goal-line or short-yardage situations, he can be a liability at times.
Eason is lined up between the left guard and left tackle. Oklahoma just runs a quarterback draw right at his side here. A wall of blockers engulfs him, and he’s simply taken out of the play. Eason just doesn’t have the anchor to compete as often as he needs to in these situations.
CONCLUSION
Bryson Eason did just about everything Tennessee asked him to during his time at the school. He deserves a lot of credit for moving from inside to outside linebacker, then defensive end and finally defensive tackle. He brings athleticism to his new position, moving quickly in short areas and firing off the ball. Against the run, he maintains a low pad level, looks to get extension on blockers, and moves well laterally to make plays.
However, Eason just doesn’t offer much against the pass. 4.5 career sacks as a sixth-year senior, with none coming in the final year, just isn’t going to move the needle. He needs a stronger pass-rush plan and to be more technically sound.
Although he’s an older prospect, I feel a little more encouraged about Eason than a typical 24-year-old. Since he’s so new to the position, he should have more room for growth than a typical prospect of that age. I don’t think his ceiling is very high, but I think his floor is decent, and he should be able to serve a depth role at the NFL level.
Eason reminds me of Jay Tufele, a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in 2021. Like Eason, Tufele got off the ball quickly and brought some athleticism to the position, yet struggled to maintain a consistent anchor and needed to develop his hands a bit more.
NFL Projection: Mid-Late Day 3
Steelers Depot Draft Grade: 6.8 (Pure Backup)
Grade Range: 6.6-7.4
Games Watched: at Florida (2025), at Oklahoma (2024), vs Oklahoma (2025), vs Syracuse (2025)
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