The Green Bay Packers waited until the late rounds to add to their defensive line group, selecting Georgia’s Warren Brinson in the sixth round.
He is a big man at 6-5 ⅕” and 315 pounds and is an impressive athlete for a bigger defensive tackle. Brinson scored a 9.10 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), including an “elite” size grade, a “great” explosion grade and a “good” speed grade.
Versatility is something the Packers always look for in players, and Brinson checks that box, able to line up anywhere along the line of scrimmage. At Georgia, he played 687 snaps in the B gap, 361 over a tackle, 95 in the A gap and 70 outside a tackle.
In terms of raw ingredients, the best parts of Brinson’s game are his core strength and lateral quickness.
He plays with leverage, can hold the point of attack and is not going to be easy to move off the spot one on one in the run game.
Brinson eats up double teams well versus the run and pass, and while he does not show the ability to beat them, he does command them due to his sheer size and this frees up other players for one on one opportunities.
His core strength means he can hold his own and not get completely moved by double teams in the run game. Brinson can plug and take up space to a decent level, and if he takes a second hit late while engaged with an offensive lineman, it does not impact him much.
Off the snap, Brinson moves well when asked to get to a new gap, he can get a gap or two over in a flash. He can line up outside a tackle, move laterally at the snap and immediately shed a block. His quickness allows him to get into the backfield, using an arm over move to slip blockers or slapping them aside.
Brinson is better as a run defender right now and was a reliable presence for the Bulldogs in that regard. He has long, strong arms and can punch just one into an opponent’s chest and control them from there, keeping his eyes on the ball and ready to use the other arm to shed when required.
He can simply throw offensive linemen off him easily at times. Brinson’s ability to leverage, hold his ground and shed is a basic but valuable skill set.
His size and power makes it difficult for offensive linemen who have to reach to block him. It is hard to wash Brinson down the line, as if he is playing half a man, his opponent is unlikely to be able to control him.
In the last two years, Brinson had an average PFF run defense grade of 78, a strong number. He had 18 stops in 179 snaps against the run in 2024; only six FBS defensive tackles who had as many or fewer snaps had as many or more stops.
Matt LaFleur is hopeful Brinson can help Green Bay’s run defense, telling the media: “Losing a guy like T.J. Slaton, you want to replace that, so we’re hopeful he can come in and do some of the dirty work in that regard.”
Against the pass, Brinson shows potential as a bull rusher and has the size to be a factor in that way. His power, combined with some ability to grab and control opponents’ hands, can put offensive linemen in a tough spot at times.
Versus South Carolina in 2023, there was an impressive rep where he started inside, stunted around the edge, fired a hand into the tackles’ chest, grabbed his wrist with the other hand and just shoved him to the dirt.
Brinson has pretty regular success when stunting or changing gaps at the snap, he can swipe tackles’ hands away and win around the edge. He also flashes the ability to get between two opponents at the snap, get his arms out to pry the hole open and get into the backfield.
In 2023, Brinson ranked 27th among FBS defensive tackles in pass rush win rate, showing he has some upside against the pass. He plays with a good level of energy and relentlessness when given the opportunity to attack forward.
Comparing his impact in the passing game to Slaton, Brian Gutekunst said Brinson has “a little bit more pass rush naturally.”
He spent five years at Georgia, giving him great experience against top college competition, and earned more snaps each year, playing 405 in his final season.
Despite Brinson’s core strength and lateral quickness, there is an interesting paradox to his game. He does not show the same kind of burst going forward off the line, and rarely shows the raw power or explosiveness to go through an opponent.
Pass rush is the weakest part of Brinson’s game at the moment. A lot of his rushes come to a stop quickly and he does not often shock offensive linemen with his initial punch.
There is not much skill to his pass rush and it can be impatient at times, causing his technique to go out the window. His PFF pass rush grade of 69.7 over the last two years is solid, but nothing more, and Brinson only had six sacks in four college seasons.
He has a career missed tackle rate of 15.5%, which may partially explain his lack of ability to finish and get sacks. Brinson ends plays on the ground a bit too often.
In the run game, he was moved by double teams at inopportune times, such as in short yardage, as he tried but failed to get his cleats in the ground and anchor. When being blocked laterally on outside runs, he can struggle to turn the tide and find the point to dig in and hold his ground.
There is stiff competition to contend with at Georgia, but Brinson was never a full-time player, starting just eight of the 59 games he played in.
Overall, Brinson is already a reliable run defender and shows upside to continue to develop his game at the next level in both the run and pass game. Due to not being a full-time player, there is some untapped potential here.
Brinson seemed to accept his role at Georgia as an unsung player on their defensive line. If he had transferred and been “the guy” at a different program, he could have ended up a much higher draft pick.
He may never be a starter or three-down player in the NFL, but he should at worst be a useful role player as a reliable early-down run defender for a long time and could turn into more than that with increased opportunities.