My toxic trait in fantasy football is taking too much pride in trying to dig out the darkest of horses and sleepers snoozing more than Paul Muad’dib did. So, scrolling way, way down the 2024. Draft Big Board you’ll find Beau Brade and, please, stay with me on this one as I believe that Brade can deliver the fantasy goods sooner rather than later. For accountability’s sake, I was high on Jalen Pitre and had him as a first-rounder, and I’m still high on one Lewis Cine, who was a first-rounder, and am still trying to trade for him in all my IDP leagues. So, that’s the ballpark. Now crank the volume up, as Beau is one méchant of a ballplayer, pardon my French.
Player Overview
Looking at his metrics from 2023 and 2024 combined Beau Brade making a play instantly made me think of none other than Minkah Fitzpatrick. BB seems so instinctive on field, hovering in the middle of the field, excelling in Zone Coverage, reading routes as they develop and he is as gifted for breaking the passes and intercepting them as he is for stopping the run game and even pressuring QBs. Brade boasts a similar skillset to Fitzpatrick, a real footballer’s mind in a linebacker’s body, and if he lands in a favorable environment, the player’s tackling as well as IDP Fantasy Scoring upside could be huge!
Player Comparison
Checking out the career college stats we can compare Beau Brade to another BB, only this one is on his way into a deep playoff run, after kicking the rookie season off with a pick-six on the future GOAT Pat Mahomes – none other than Mr. Versatility for the young and upcoming Detroit Lions’ defense – Brian Branch. I don’t see Brade having Branch’s big play ability, but if he ends up in a supportive landing spot, I envision him being a high-ceiling player in the later stages of his rookie season.
Stats alone are very similar in the tackles department, and if we discard Brade’s first season in which he played less than a handful of games, we see over 170 total tackles for both players. Splash play potential is there for Brade, with three career interceptions and passes defended in double digits. The biggest caveat here is to not raise your expectations too much – Brade is a multi-positional asset, the stats are similar to Branch, but he may not have had the same role without the injury to C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Strengths & Weaknesses
One potential red flag is the missing tackles percentage that is on the rise in each of Brade’s seasons and stands at 17%. No prospect is perfect coming out of college, and this is one of the areas he needs to improve.
As for his appearance and skills I did compare him to Fitzpatrick, but don’t take it from me – Carter Landis a beat reporter on Las Vegas Raiders believes Brade should join his former cohort Jakorian Bennett in the Silver and Black secondary looking as, and I quote:
“Brade is built like a linebacker at the safety spot, which allows him to be aggressive in pursuit of ball carriers. He also has the speed to chase down receivers and speedier running backs. He is also a high-IQ player, able to click and close and blow up plays in coverage.”
Being an aggressive and physical player did prove to be a problem in college, and is an area that needs improvement, as Landis says in hi SI article:
“While he is a great athlete with great size, Brade gave up explosive plays consistently. He gave up three touchdowns in 2023, according to PFF. Sometimes, he can get overly physical and overaggressive, resulting in explosive plays.”
Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network cites mentality, communication and physicality as Brade’s strengths making him a quintessential DB, but also recognizes his aggressiveness to be a weakness and adds a few more:
- Tendency to overrun plays in coverage and pursuit, taking obtuse angles
- Gets handsy with tight ends along the stem
- Missile-like nature gets him missing tackles when he doesn’t break down
- Wants to be physical in space against linemen with no chance of success
Fantasy Summary
Before we corral all this information in, bear in mind that for fantasy purposes you certainly have no need to splash out an early pick on a DB, and there certainly are more obvious picks like Nate Wiggins, Tyler Nubin or Cooper DeJean. What brings us, the fantasy managers, joy is that regardless of Brade spending 52.7% as a FS in 2022, or 44.6% of snaps in the box in 2023 he boasts high tackling volume and run-tackling efficiency. Depending on the scoring settings, you should covet Beau Brade in balanced and tackle-heavy systems, with 177 total tackles in his three seasons. Three career interceptions and forced fumbles as well as 11 passes defended combined with his instinct and football IQ cited by evaluators, may turn him into a ball hawk and splash play asset for customized IDP scoring systems that emphasize INT, INT return yards and TD’s.
For that, we should keep a close eye on his landing spot, and as Packers overtook the Bears 23% to 16% on PFF mock draft, in both instances he has a clear path to snaps conducive to fantasy production. His prowess in Zone Coverage during his junior year could help elevate his projected Day 2 draft stock on top of his impressive run-stopping defensive performance during his senior year in 2023, and also a good testing during the draft process should elevate him further, so stay tuned if you want to acquire yourself a true dark horse.
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