Brady
Christensen.
Brady
Christensen.
BYU
"A 6'6", 300-lb BYU left tackle whose zone-fit tape and 34"-arm profile made him one of the class's cleanest developmental OT projections in Round 3."Pre-draft read
This athletic movement tackle sets vertically with quick post-and-mirror footwork. He wins the first-punch battle with tight, inside hand placement, and can recover when late by resetting rather than lunging. In the run game, he is fast off the ball, cuts off backside pursuit, climbs to the second level with control, and finishes on linebackers at the numbers.
His ceiling is limited by length. Against long edges he cannot re-punch once the initial hand strike is neutralized. Interior power rushers get under his pads and walk him into the pocket because his short arms do not catch and stall the second push.
The Carolina Panthers' zone-heavy run scheme with an RPO element, which prioritizes athletic and mobile offensive linemen.
A Day 1 starter at left guard, with the ceiling of a high-end starter in a zone-blocking scheme.
A gap/duo power run-blocking scheme requiring long arms and consistent anchor strength on bull rushes.
Christensen's elite athleticism and zone-blocking prowess make him a strong fit for the Panthers' scheme at guard, masking his length limitations.
PROTECTED Zach Wilson's BLINDSIDE — BYU OT Brady Christensen Highlights
2020 BYU LT film — quick sets, lateral kick-slide, pass-pro against Group-of-5 edges on the Zach Wilson blindside.
Carolina Panthers Select LT Brady Christensen 70th Overall
2021 draft-night selection package: college production summary and Panthers' Day-2 tackle-projection rationale.
Brady Christensen on playing multiple positions on the O-line
Panthers interview covering the LT→LG→swing OL conversion and the multi-position rookie usage.
This prospect is an athletic movement tackle projecting best at left guard in a zone-heavy scheme. His athletic profile is a top-tier trait for this role, and his limited length is hidden between two longer bodies. Teams viewed him as a potential immediate starter at left guard.
He entered the 2021 cycle as the highest-graded pass-blocking tackle in FBS, with PFF charting zero sacks allowed on over 400 pass-blocking snaps during his senior season at BYU. He earned AP consensus All-America and Outland Trophy finalist honors. His pro day athletic profile was elite for the position, including a 4.89-second 40-yard dash, landing him a 9.99 RAS.
Evaluators noted two primary flags: his 32¼-inch arms, which placed him in the 4th percentile for tackles, and his age, as he was 24 at the draft after a two-year mission. Consensus boards had him slated for late Day 2, with projections split between an immediate left guard starter and a swing tackle with growth potential at guard.
- 01
Elite athletic testing
Ran 4.89 in the 40-yard dash, jumped 33 inches vertical and 9-foot-8 broad at BYU's pro day, confirming his 9.99 RAS profile on tape.
- 02
Clean pass-blocking sample
PFF recorded a 90.6 pass-block grade in 2020 with zero sacks allowed on over 400 pass-blocking snaps, the top mark in FBS.
- 03
Zone-run fit
Foot quickness and short-area burst enable him to reach play-side 3-techniques and climb with control, finishing linebackers at the numbers.
- 04
Football maturity
At 24 years old with a two-year mission completed and three years as a BYU starter, he exhibited veteran habits and film study reps.
- 05
Hand reset and recovery
Wins the first-punch battle with quick, tight inside hands; he resets a second time rather than lunging when initial contact misses.
- 01
Sub-threshold length
His 32¼-inch arms and 80-inch wingspan fall below NFL tackle thresholds, observed when long edges reach his frame before his hands reset.
- 02
Age curve
Turned 24 at the draft after a two-year mission, implying a different developmental timeline than younger prospects with a similar athletic profile.
- 03
Level of competition
His elite pass-block grades in 2020 came largely against Group of Five and independent edges, lacking a consistent stress test against Power Five speed rushers.
- 04
Anchor versus bull rush
Pad level rises when forced to slide and settle, allowing interior power rushers to walk him back due to short arms hindering lock-out and stalling.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- —s
- Vertical
- 34inp50
- Broad jump
- 124inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 30repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | RecYds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | BYU | 13 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | BYU | 13 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | BYU | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 38 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Dependable interior swing starter whose length caps his ceiling but whose intelligence and hand technique earn a decade of NFL snaps.
Same OT-to-elite-LG athletic profile with clean pass-blocking record and a Super Bowl-caliber interior ceiling once fully committed to guard.
Athletic-tested interior journeyman whose measurables outran his tape once starters got healthy and length matchups exposed the anchor.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Below expectations. Started 8 games at LT as a rookie (average), swing OL role through 2022-23, out of the starting lineup in 2024. Signed with the Chargers in 2025 as depth. Journeyman OL with occasional spot-start value — profile landed.
Pre-draft context — Christensen entered the 2021 cycle as the highest-graded pass-blocking tackle in FBS after a senior season at BYU in which PFF charted zero sacks allowed on 400+ pass-blocking snaps and an overall 90.6 pass-block grade, plus AP consensus All-America and Outland Trophy finalist honors. The athletic profile at his March pro day was elite for the position — 4.89 in the 40, 33-inch vertical, 9-foot-8 broad — landing him a 9.99 RAS in the 96th percentile among tackles. The two flags that dictated where he landed were length (32¼-inch arms, 4th percentile; 80-inch wingspan, 12th percentile) and age (24 at the draft after a two-year LDS mission, so the "junior" tag on his roster line was misleading). Consensus board slotted him late Day 2 with a projection split between "starter LG immediately" and "swing tackle with guard growth."
NFL fit — Carolina Panthers: Carolina took him at #70 to compete at left tackle, and injuries to Cam Erving forced him into eight rookie starts at LT in 2021 — the results were what the pre-draft flags predicted. Long NFC South edges beat his short arms to the corner, he allowed pressure at a bottom-quartile clip, and by 2022 he had slid to a swing OL role behind Ikem Ekwonu. He started a handful of games at LG in 2022-2023 where the length concern mattered less, but never locked down a full-time interior job. Waived by Carolina in 2024, he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025 as depth. Total career AV of 4 across five seasons.
Retrospective — This one landed on the flag the entire industry named on draft night. Christensen's pass-blocking tape and testing were legitimately Day-2 caliber; his arms and age were not. Teams that had him boxed as "guard only from Day 1" were right, and Carolina's decision to develop him at tackle first cost him the runway to become a decent starting LG. The pick wasn't a reach on talent — it was a bet against the length threshold, and the length threshold won.