What Does Offensive Lineman Ben Bredeson Bring to the New York Giants?

LockedOn Ravens host Kevin Oestreicher offers insight into what the Giants are getting in Ben Brederson at around the 19 minute mark of the above video.

I feel so much better about the depth of this Giants interior offensive line now than I did during the 22-20 preseason Patriots loss. Price is trending in the right direction, and I was pleased with Bredeson's preseason film, albeit preseason, and it wasn't All-22. Let's get into that film right now and start with his ability to generate power in the run game.

Ben Bredeson is #67 for the Ravens

Run Blocking

Bredeson is at right guard on this play above against the New Orleans Saints in the 2021 preseason. He quickly shoots his hands into the shoulder pads of the defensive tackle. 

The Ravens traditionally run their offensive line splits tight, but he's still isolated on the 2-technique. The defender attempts to sink his anchor upon contact to compensate for the good play strength Bredeson brings to the table. 

However, Bredeson can torque his body and use his outside arm to shift the defender's weight inside while generating power through the ground to drive through the defensive lineman. He gets a bit of help from the right tackle, but it was still a solid display of play strength.

An important part of Jason Garrett's offense is the ability to pull into space. Power/gap teams feature pulling or pin-pull concepts. A team can't have a puller without a pinner. 

These blocks are down blocks that give offensive linemen advantageous angles to eliminate defenders from the play. If the backside guard pulls to the front side, and there's a 3-technique on his outside shoulder, then the center may have to block down the line of scrimmage to eliminate the 3-technique blowing the play up from the backside. 

Bredeson is the pinner on this play on the play side at right guard. Bredeson does a great job pinning a 1-technique. Bredeson squares the body up, gets in the way of the defensive lineman, and then just down blocks him out of the way. Good positioning on an easier assignment from Bredeson.

Here we get to see Bredeson as the right guard down blocking again. He makes contact on the defender's outside shoulder, gets his inside hand on the midline to turn the defender around, and then continues to drive his feet down the line of scrimmage to disallow separation. Bredeson and his defender end up at the bottom of the screen, away from the play.

Bredeson is aligned over the bubble in this play, which means he is uncovered. This gives him a clean release to the second level to locate any linebackers. He finds the WILL in this big-nickel package and doesn't allow him to use his athletic ability to avoid the block. Although he had a clean release, he is still able to position himself in a great position.

As a Puller

Bredeson does an excellent job on this play as the backside puller in this power/gap run. He quickly finds the penetrating linebacker and embraces the contact while falling on top of the defender to eliminate his impact on the play. He is a bit high while pulling yet still ends up getting low into the contact zone, and the defender runs right into the block, but it's good execution and finishing ability for Bredeson.

We get to see Bredeson explode off his outside foot and be the lead blocker on this rushing attempt. The H-Back, who usually lead blocks for the Giants, kicks out the end man on the line of scrimmage, while the backside guard finds the most dangerous man in the alley. 

These roles are usually reversed on Garrett's go-to counter runs. Nevertheless, Bredeson locates the linebacker and gets a solid grasp of him past the line of scrimmage.

The execution on this play isn't as good as the previous two plays where Bredeson pulls. He gets fooled a bit and doesn't keep his pull tight, which leads him to stray from the line of scrimmage as he pulls. This looks awkward and leads #55 to jump back inside to disrupt the play. 

Bredeson has to be a bit tighter and more precise with his path, and he has to know that #55 isn't going to bend around the block, so it's unnecessary to take that extra step off the line of scrimmage while pulling. It isn't a huge deal, and it's only one play, but it's worth noting.

Pass Protection

Bredeson brings excellent posture to his pass blocking. He has an angular build, extends his short arms well, readjusts his hands as needed, and has active feet. 

On this play at right guard, he takes on the contact and locks his arms out to absorb the defender's power. See how his hips sink, and his chest is high; his positioning displays confidence, and it's great to see him excel with his anchor, albeit against backups.

His ability to readjust his hands throughout a rep is excellent. He's at right guard again; he gets his hands inside and extends, prompting the defender to locate his inside arm. 

When this happens, Bredeson adjusts and brings his inside arm back underneath the defender's shoulder pads. This reestablishes positioning, and dominance, on the line of scrimmage--this is something Bredeson does well, despite his short arms.

Here's another example of excellent readjustment ability from Bredeson. At left guard, he quickly gets his hands into the defender's chest and then extends slightly to keep separation. There's pure grip strength and fight on this play, and Bredeson doesn't allow speed or power to defeat his set--I love the use of his 10 1/8" hands here.

At right guard blocking a 3-technique, Bredeson extends his inside arm and keeps the defender off his body while shifting his feet up the guard pass-rushing arc to mirror the defensive player. Watch how his inside arm locks out, and his outside arm prevents half-man movement. His foot movement protects poor positioning, and he can just stick with the defender's pass-rushing attempt.

This is another display of his solid anchor. Despite the momentum, he embraces the contact, grabs inside, doesn't get bullied, and holds the defender from gaining ground. He also does a good job sinking his 6'5 height to match the defender.

Another snap at right guard, and we, again, see the anchor against this level of competition. This type of grip strength and ability to not get bullied may become necessary in the 2021 NFL season.

Bredeson is at right guard again on this play, and watch how quickly he shoots his hands inside to establish positioning. His anchor is solid enough to sit back and trust against adequate to solid competition, which is what happens here.

Final Thoughts

Ben Bredeson is a smart, physical, interior solid offensive lineman that significantly improves the Giants' depth, as does Billy Price. I wouldn't be surprised if either see significant playing time this season. 

Both these acquisitions were necessary; one of the biggest concerns heading into 2021 was the interior offensive line, and now it may be the tackles if Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart play as poorly as they did in the preseason.

The additions of both these players allow the Giants to get creative at the offensive line. Both these players have experience playing all interior positions. This could, if something terrible happens, allow Nick Gates to kick back out to tackle. 

This isn't Plan A for the Giants, but it's an option in desperate situations. Gates did a very solid job in 2019 at tackle. The addition of both Bredeson and Price makes this overall offensive line much more interesting than they were just three days ago. 

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