Ben
Bredeson.
Ben
Bredeson.
Michigan· 6'5"· 315 lb
"A two-time Michigan captain with 46 straight starts at left guard, whose technique and processing were ready for Sundays and whose athletic ceiling set the round."Pre-draft read
Bredeson is a 6-5, 315-pound left guard built on technique, leverage and reliability rather than explosion. He fires out low, keeps his hands inside, and sustains blocks through the whistle in the run game, and he has the anchor to absorb a bull rush without losing depth in the pocket.
He is at his best in a gap scheme where he can down-block and fold, and he is comfortable enough on the move to pull and hit a linebacker in space. Four years of Big Ten reps show in pass protection: he reads stunts early and passes them off cleanly. Athletically he is average, with tight hips against quick interior rushers and late climbs to the second level. The signature is dependability.
A gap or duo-based run game that asks guards to down-block, fold and finish, paired with a pass protection scheme built on picking up interior games.
Year 1 swing interior backup who competes for a starting guard job by Year 2, with a ceiling as a durable ten-year starter at left guard.
An outside-zone offense that asks guards to reach-block and climb to linebackers on the move every snap.
Ben Bredeson (Michigan LG #74) vs. Wisconsin (2017)
Full-game cut-up against a heavy Big Ten front, showing the anchor and pad level.
Williams NFL Draft Scouting Report - Ben Bredeson
Pre-draft film breakdown of the gap-scheme fit and hip tightness.
Michigan Offensive Guard Ben Bredeson at the 2020 NFL Combine
Combine session from the two-time Michigan captain ahead of the draft.
Bredeson came out of Arrowhead High in Hartland, Wisconsin as the state's Gatorade player of the year and a MaxPreps and USA Today All-American, the son of a former Illinois State center, and he did not wait to play. He started eight games at left guard as a true freshman in 2016 and then never left the lineup.
He finished with 50 games and 46 career starts, all at left guard, for four different offensive coordinators. He made second-team All-Big Ten from the coaches and media in both 2017 and 2018, was named the team's toughest player of the year as a junior, and was voted a captain in 2018 and again in 2019, becoming just the twelfth player in Michigan history to be elected captain twice. His senior season was the best of the four: thirteen more starts, first-team All-Big Ten from both the coaches and media, second-team Walter Camp All-American and third-team AP All-American, plus a second straight Outland Trophy watch list and a share of the Hugh R. Rader Award as Michigan's top offensive lineman.
Everything teams wanted from an interior lineman was in the file except top-end athleticism. The reports read the same way: high floor, limited ceiling, plug-and-play backup who might start. Baltimore took him at 143.
- 01
Four-year production
Fifty games and 46 starts at left guard in the Big Ten, beginning as a true freshman and continuing through four offensive coordinators.
- 02
Leadership pedigree
Elected captain in both 2018 and 2019, the twelfth player in Michigan history chosen twice, and named the team's toughest player.
- 03
Pass-protection processing
Recognizes stunts and twists early and passes them off without panic, the trait that gets an interior lineman on the field first.
- 04
Anchor strength
Absorbs bull rushes with his feet under him and gives up very little pocket depth against heavy interior power.
- 05
Gap-scheme fit
Down-blocks and folds with good pad level and finishes blocks through the whistle, the profile of a true power-run guard.
- 01
Average athleticism
Testing and tape agree that he is a good-not-special mover, which caps his ceiling to solid starter rather than Pro Bowl guard.
- 02
Hip tightness
Struggles to redirect against quick interior rushers who attack his edges and force him to open his frame.
- 03
Second-level range
Late to climb and connect on linebackers in a wide zone scheme that asks guards to reach and cut off flow.
- 04
Positional ceiling
A guard-only prospect with no realistic tackle flexibility, which lowers the roster value of a Day 3 lineman.
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Michigan | — |
| 2017 | Michigan | — |
| 2018 | Michigan | 13 |
| 2019 | Michigan | 13 |
| Career | — | 50 |
Career totals of 50 games and 46 starts, all at left guard, come from the Michigan senior biography, which also confirms thirteen starts in each of 2018 and 2019 and twelve regular-season starts in 2017. The 2016 freshman start total is the remainder and matches his 20th career start coming in the 2017 finale. Game totals for 2016 and 2017 were not itemized in the sources checked and are left empty. Offensive linemen carry no statistical production line beyond games and starts.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
A dependable interior starter who gives a good offense average-to-plus play at two spots.
The ceiling: a technically clean guard whose consistency turns into a decade of high-level starting play.
A decorated Michigan lineman whose athletic limits leave him as a career backup who never locks down a job.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Baltimore never used him. He was inactive most of his rookie year, appearing in ten games in 2020 without a start, and was traded to the Giants at the end of the 2021 preseason. New York gave him the runway: one start in 2021, eight in 2022, and then a full sixteen-start season at guard in 2023.
Tampa Bay signed him in March of 2024 on a one-year prove-it deal and he won the left guard job, started all seventeen games and became part of an offensive line that helped the Buccaneers set franchise records in completion percentage, passer rating, rushing yards, yards per carry and third-down conversion rate. He re-signed, started eleven games in 2025 including five at center, and opened 2026 as a starter again. Through seven seasons he has 75 games and 55 starts. This is close to the exact outcome the draft profile projected: not a star, never a liability, a starting interior lineman on a good offense who will play a decade because he can be trusted at two positions.