By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Over the past few seasons, N.C. State has been producing some good NFL talent. The Wolfpack sent their entire starting defensive line into the 2018 NFL Draft, along with some talent for the offense. This year, the trend continues as Bradbury should be among multiple Wolfpack prospects who gets selected in the top half of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Bradbury’s top traits are his athleticism and quickness at the point of attack. He is agile to get to spots with the athletic ability to put himself in position to hit blocks that other centers are unable to do. In pass protection, that athleticism comes through with him being an asset to execute double teams or pick up blitzes.
Bradbury is an intelligent blocker with good technique. He plays with good leverage and can anchor against some bull rushes. Bradbury is not a dominating pass blocker as he can give up some pressures, but on the inside of the line, he is pretty reliable. Bradbury is not a center who a team would want to have isolated on an elite nose tackle who has a lot of power. Bradbury would be better off working in tandem with a guard against a large, heavy nose tackle.
As a run blocker, Bradbury is a leverage lineman who does a nice job of getting into defenders and using developed upper body strength to sustain blocks. Bradbury is a tough, physical, has some attitude, and blocks through the whistle. He does a nice job of hitting combo and bump blocks with his guard, getting on the hip of defensive tackles and helping his guard to open some lanes. Bradbury is not a bulldozer who blasts defenders off the ball to knock them out of their gaps. He is not a road-grader and is better when he works in tandem with a guard.
Bradbury has some size limitations, such as lacking height and having short arms. Given his size, he is probably going to be limited to center in the NFL. He could play guard in a pinch if there were an injury in game, but he is not a good fit to be an every-down starter at guard given his short height and arms and weight. However, Bradbury has special athletic ability and quickness to function in the middle of the line at center.
In the NFL, Bradbury could develop into a starting center early in his career. He could go as high as late in the first round, but is more likely to be a second-round pick.
Player Comparison: Matt Paradis. Bradbury reminds me of Paradis (6-3, 300). Both are tough, physical blockers who have some limitations that keep them from being elite interior blockers, but they are solid, strong, and find a way to get the job done. In the NFL, I see Bradbury being an effective center like Paradis.
NFL Matches: Arizona, Denver, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Kansas City
There could be a lot of teams in the market for Bradbury on the second day of the 2019 NFL Draft. Arizona needs to improve its offensive line, and Bradbury could interest the organization as a potential plug-and-play blocker.
Denver did not re-sign Matt Paradis, and Bradbury could be a good replacement for him.
The Titans badly need some upgrades at guard and center. Bradbury could be a plug-and-play upgrade for Tennessee to go with new guard Rodger Saffold.
In the NFC South, the Buccaneers have a big hole at right guard. Bradbury could start out there and potentially move to center in a year or two. Carolina center Ryan Kalil finished his impressive career recently, and the Panthers replaced him with Paradis. Carolina still could use a new starter at left guard.
Philadelphia had protection issues on the inside of the offensive line last year, so Bradbury could be of interest to the Eagles with one of their second-round picks.
Minnesota must get more offensive line talent to protect Kirk Cousins, so Bradbury could be of interest to the Vikings.
The Chiefs lost Mitch Morse in free agency, and Bradbury could be a replacement for them. He could be a candidate for Kansas City’s late first-round or one of the team’s second-round picks.
RELATED LINKS:
2019 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2019 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2019 NFL Draft Player Previews
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