There is a new safety in Detroit after the Lions claimed Brady Breeze off waivers from the Tennessee Titans this week. Breeze joins the Lions after being waived by the Titans in the middle of his rookie season having played sparingly in Nashville.
What the are Lions getting in Breeze?
Aside from the cool alliterative name, Breeze brings some youthful promise to the Lions. He was a sixth-round draft pick out of Oregon in the 2021 NFL draft, a former teammate of Lions first-rounder Penei Sewell.
Like Sewell, Breeze opted out of the 2020 college season for the Ducks. His last college game was a great one, however. Breeze earned the Rose Bowl MVP against Wisconsin for his 11-tackle performance that also included a forced fumble and recovery for a touchdown. It was his third defensive score of the season, showing an opportunistic bent to his game.
The effort and playing style from Breeze is one of a kneecap biter. He goes maximum effort on every snap and doesn’t shy away from contact or hitting. The instincts in the run game are readily evident. Breeze is good at attacking downhill from a high safety spot, especially against interior runs. He’s very adept at filling the proper hole at the right time.
He will hit in coverage and Breeze has some pop behind his pads. He plays bigger than his 6-foot, 196-pound frame would suggest. That style of play and physicality is also present in special teams duty. Breeze played exclusively on punt and kick teams with the Titans. Even in the preseason, Breeze couldn’t get on the field on defense.
In coverage, it’s understandable why the Titans let him go. Even at Oregon, the speed of the passing game often moved a little too fast for Breeze. He’s an average overall athlete but doesn’t have great play speed or closing burst. The chase-down speed just isn’t there.
One area where he really struggled in college was in changing directions on the fly. If his hips turned outside and he had to recover inside, Breeze was in a lot of trouble.
In Detroit, expect him to start out playing the same as he did with the Titans: special teams. If he can’t shoehorn his way into the coverage and return units quickly, Breeze might not be in Detroit for long. It’s a real stretch to see the coverage issues and limited on-field play speed affording Breeze much of a chance to play on defense, even in the Lions’ injury-ravaged secondary.