This post was originally published on this site

A better late than never draft profile on Pittsburgh’s newest linebacker.

In this dead part of the Steelers’ season, it’s worth taking a closer look at the team’s rookie class. As we never got the chance to do a draft profile on Carson Bruener earlier this year at BTSC, here’s a scouting report-style breakdown of Pittsburgh’s new linebacker.

The basics on Carson Bruener

• Position: Linebacker
• Class: Redshirt senior
• Size: 6’1, 227 pounds
• Age: 23
• Draft round: 7

Stats via Sports Reference

Carson Bruener scouting report

A redshirt senior at Washington and the son of a former NFL player and current scout, Bruener’s tape looks the part of someone who knows the game of football inside and out.

He’s undersized and doesn’t look like an elite athlete on the field, but made up for those shortcomings with his style of play. Bruener’s ability to sift through traffic, especially against zone runs, was the first thing that stood out to me when watching him play. He flows downhill very well.

Bruener is also a high motor defender who’s always in pursuit and willing to make physical plays.

The last clip against Oregon State in the video below is indicative of the type of linebacker he is — Bruener doesn’t have the athleticism to keep up with the receiver in coverage, but he makes up for it by chasing the play down and then taking advantage of the slick conditions to punch the ball out for a positive play.

Bruener’s football IQ also shows up in coverage, where he was a bit better than I expected. He didn’t have much of a problem keeping up with running backs leaking out of the backfield, and he gets depth pretty quickly when dropping to a deeper zone, with good awareness of what’s going on around him.

He had a surprising number of pass deflections, as well.

While Bruener has some definite limitations which you can see on tape, his 8.85 RAS and 4.58-second 40-yard dash time show a player who has the athleticism to play linebacker in the NFL. His RAS shows his agility as “elite” — a statement I definitely disagree with — but maybe there’s more upside there, and Bruener did play through a shoulder injury in 2024 that certainly didn’t help things.

Bruener could sometimes be a tick late reacting in coverage, and unsurprisingly, wide receivers would leave him in the dust on crossers. And on a handful of plays, it took him a few business days to turn a corner.

At 227 pounds, Bruener is a bit undersized for a linebacker. It didn’t show up as a negative as much as you might think, but it was most obvious when he tried to rush the passer. He’s just not built to overpower blockers with pure strength.

However, Bruener has a fairly strong upper half and impressive hand usage; if he had some room to maneuver, he was capable of shedding blocks to make the tackle.

His combination of agility and size/length concerns meant there were a few more missed tackles on Bruener’s tape than I expected. Sometimes, he can get caught flat-footed and running backs shoot by.

As always, there’s some good to balance out the bad. Bruener also had a lot of plays where he flew downhill to stop the runner in their tracks — good stuff from a smaller linebacker. He’s a physical player. While Bruener could continue to improve as a tackler, it’s not a big weakness of his game by any means.

Bruener may never be an NFL starter, but he has the exact sort of skill set that could make him a high-end special-teamer. In fact, he has plenty of experience doing exactly that during his years at Washington, where Bruener’s hard-nosed style of play made him a real weapon on kickoff coverage (Michael Penix’s reaction to the play below always cracks me up):

Strengths

• Instinctive defender; good eyes
• Plays bigger than his listed size
• Strong upper half
• Good hand usage shedding blocks
• Aware in coverage; better than expected covering pass-catchers vertically
• Special teams ability
• Knack for batting down passes
• Team captain in 2024
• NFL, Steelers bloodlines: father is former Pittsburgh tight end/current scout Mark Bruener

Weaknesses

• Undersized at 6’1, 227 pounds
• Below-average lateral agility
• Lacks twitch
• Play strength is a concern without momentum
• A few more missed tackles on tape than expected

What others are saying about Carson Bruener

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com

Bruener doesn’t have the chiseled frame of a linebacker, but he seems to get things done. He comes from NFL bloodlines and plays stronger than his listed weight, with heavy hands. Despite the production, he appears to lack the functional speed and athleticism to survive against NFL offenses beyond the box. Bruener might not be an ideal fit as an NFL backup, but his special-teams work will be enticing for teams.

Brennen Rupp of Packers Wire

Bruener is always where he needs to be. He’s never out of place and that shows up in coverage. He gets appropriate depth in his drops and tightens up passing windows. He senses the action and recorded four interceptions and eight pass deflections over the past two seasons. … Bruener plays with a motor that doesn’t cool down. The Washington linebacker has functional lateral quickness and range. He’s not a thumper by any means, but Bruener is assignment-sound and is always where he needs to be.

Dan Raley of Huskies Wire

Bruener won’t tell you this, but he wasn’t a full-fledged starter the past two seasons for DeBoer’s defense and it fuels him. Everyone else seems to agree that he was an elite player in 2023 except for his former coaches, which appears to be just a matter of preference. … Bruener is a big hitter, has decent speed in pass coverage … A neutral observer said what separates this Bruener from other linebackers is he plays smart at all times besides being overly physical, and that could make him a 10-year NFL vet. His current UW coaches quickly installed him as a starter and a team leader.

Carson Bruener’s fit with the Steelers

Carson Bruener is, of course, the son of current Steelers scout (and former tight end) Mark Bruener. However, while I wasn’t blown away by the Washington linebacker’s tape, it’s good enough that I can assure you it beats the nepotism allegations. Bruener is exactly the sort of linebacker you’d expect to go in the seventh round.

He’s not a complete player — very few are on Day 3 of the draft — but if he makes the team he should be an immediate high-volume special-teamer. And he played well enough against big-time college teams that he should be able to pinch hit on defense when needed. His athletic testing was a lot better than I assumed it would be, meaning his NFL ceiling might be a tad higher than I initially thought.

However, don’t let your expectations get too high. Bruener was a late bloomer at Washington, and he has a lot of linebackers ahead of him on the Steelers’ depth chart. Bruener will almost certainly be competing with Mark Robinson (301 special teams last year) to be the Steelers’ ILB5 in 2025.

TL;DR: Bruener isn’t an elite athlete and he’s on the smaller side for an NFL linebacker, but he’s a tough defender whose football IQ stood out during his time as a college starter. A special teams contributor at Washington, Bruener looks to solidify a similar role to start his pro career.