How Bralen Trice’s play caught the Falcons’ attention

In Booth’s AP article that focused on Trice linked above, Washington right tackle Roger Rosengarten believed Trice’s get-off could be argued as one of the best in college football. After the Falcons drafted Trice with the No. 74 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Smith said Trice is the guy who you want in a proverbial bar fight. Per Collier, the seemingly effortless way Trice moves offensive linemen out of his way in his pursuit of the quarterback is the most noticeable quality he possesses.

All of these opinions and observations go right back to this idea of being an enforcer.

The biggest hold up in this nickname catching fire, though? Trice’s sack numbers coming out of college didn’t look like those of fellow edge rushers in the draft. Trice finished his 40-game stint in the college ranks with 18 total sacks. By comparison, first-round picks Dallas Turner, Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu all topped out their careers with at least 23.5 sacks.

However, the biggest misconception about edge rushers is that their value is only as high as their sack totals. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Are sacks important? Yes. But ask defensive coordinators across the league, or at any level in fact, and they’ll all agree: Getting a quarterback off his spot and under duress is just as important. And you know who did that more than any single player in college football in the last two seasons? Trice.

According to Dane Brugler’s draft guide, Trice finished No. 1 in the FBS in total pressures in both 2022 (70) and 2023 (78).

The Falcons took notice of this fact. Not only that, but Smith keyed in on it as he watched Trice’s pass-rush moves on film.

“When you’re looking at edge rushers, you want to see, can they win a one-on-one rush?” Smith said. “And this guy for the past two years has led the FBS in win percentage as far as one-on-one pass rushers go. … He’s the top in that. You’re getting a guy who can affect the quarterback. And that’s what we need in this league and with everything we’re trying to do.”

For Collier, this line in Trice’s stat sheet is something that kept him coming back for more. Why? Well, because it’s a stat line that begs for added attention. It’s a stat line that can develop into something more, sometimes rather quickly. If you’re pressuring a quarterback, if you’re constantly in the pocket, chances are you’re a millisecond away from adding to another stat line: sacks.

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