BYU OT Brady Christensen, a Bountiful High product, emerges as 3rd-round pick by Carolina Panthers
PROVO – The day after his starting quarterback Zach Wilson was voted No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, BYU left Brady Christensen and heard his own name being mentioned.
But with a lot less fanfare.
With the No. 70 pick of the third round, the Carolina Panthers selected Christensen, the former Bountiful High three-sport athlete who excelled in the left tackle for the Cougars and scored All-American Honors in the final 11-1 campaign in 2020.
Christensen was one of the Panthers’ three picks on the second day of the draft, including LSU recipient Terrace Marshall Jr., who was selected in the second round with the No. 59 overall victory.
They all had one thing in common, said head coach Matt Rhule.
“They are top athletes,” he said. “Brady Christensen with his 10 foot wide, 40 yard dash, 6-5, 302; besides being a really good player, he’s a really good person and an elite athlete.
“You have the physical skills to develop this level.”
With Christensen on the left, the BYU offensive line ranked 8th nationwide in 2020, allowing only 12 sacks in 12 games and two quarterback presses in 293 pass-blocking snaps. The Cougars also took 4th place in the ranking (43.5), 7th place in the total offense (522.2) and 8th place in the temporary offense (322.1).
After being banned from the Jets’ new alleged starter for three years, Christensen is tasked with protecting former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who was recently sold to the Panthers to make way for Wilson. In the Panthers, Christensen is also reunited with former BYU teammate Micah Simon.
BOOM ?
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Carolina signed a multi-year minimum wage contract to Simon last month after the 2019 graduate fired a 4.3-yard shot from 40 yards during the Cougars Pro Day in March.
Christensen is BYU’s second draft pick this year, along with alleged New York Jets starter Wilson, and the third pick from the state of Utah, alongside Desert Hills against Penei Sewell. The move marks the first time the Cougars have had multiple selections since 2010, and the first year since Doug Jolley (Raiders) and Ryan Denney (Bills) in 2002, which saw two BYU players drafted in the first three rounds.
“I’m excited to see Brady paying off all his hard work with an All America college career and a well-deserved opportunity to play in the NFL,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake of Christensen, the 33rd offensive lineman to be drafted in BYU history and for the first time since 2005. “The Panthers are getting a great soccer player and an amazing person. I look forward to surpassing him on the next level.”
The Panthers have had eight different starters in offensive tackles over the past eight years, and Christensen could count on ninth place. At least he has a chance to fight for game time right away.
Step by step. Rhule said the panthers hadn’t even decided whether he would play guard or attack the next level.
“We think he’s a versatile player who can play outside and inside,” said Rhule. “We’re going to wait until he gets here to see where he fits. But he comes from a pro-style offense at BYU, so he did the things we asked him to do.
“Another great athlete, intelligent – the whole package.”
BYU Attack Brady Christensen conducts exercises for NFL scouts and general managers during BYU Pro Day on Friday March 26, 2021 in Provo. (Photo: Nate Edwards, BYU Photo)
The Panthers traded with Philadelphia, swapping the number 73 and adding a sixth round selection to move up three spots and move in Christensen. The team reclaimed a fifth-round pick on Saturday and a fourth-round pick in 2022 by trading pick # 83 for Houston, one of three picks Carolina held in the third round.
In addition to Christensen, Notre Dame Temble Tremble will also be among the Panthers who previously picked South Carolina’s cornerback Jaycee Horn in 8th place on Thursday. Carolina exchanged in the third round from the 26th election, No. 89 overall.
“There was a lot of trading tonight and the coach was so cool throughout the process. It was great,” said Scott Fitterer, Panthers general manager. “People called and we communicated to be in a position that boys need.”
But when Carolina picked Christensen in, the urgency seemed to fade in the rest of the third.
The 6-foot-6,300-pound left device spent four years with BYU, including a redshirt season in 2017 that followed a two-year mission for Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ in New Zealand.
Christensen returned to play in all 13 games of his freshman season. He received a pro-freshman quote from Pro Football Focus and was named a full-time starter in 2019 for his sophomore year.
Christensen was an All-American consensus a year ago, going from a two-star prospectus picking BYU over Air Force, Weber State, and Southern Utah to an NFL prospectus draft with a cap for the third round and high praise by several design analysts – and many.He was named one of the top links tackles in the design along with Penei Sewell, the Desert Hills over Oregon product that was voted number 7 overall by the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
Sewell is barely 20 years old, while Christensen will turn 25 when he opens his rookie season in September. It’s a big difference and could explain why Christensen left a year early to apply for the draft. However, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said that did not help the team’s decision to take the athletic tackle in the third round.
“It’s not about that. We just like the person,” Fitterer said during a nightly press conference after Carolina’s selection. “We like the athlete. I was on BYU-Pro-Day and he was very impressive personally. Then you hear about the character, the tenacity, the person. That really sold us.”
Much of that wave was Christensen’s sportiness. He showed a value of 4.89 40 during BYU’s pro day in March when he also posted a 34-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 1-inch long jump – marks that set him at the 2020 NFL were among the top linemen combine.
“I’ve known for a while that I’m an athletic guy – not just a fat guy as some people might think,” Christensen said after the pro day. “I knew I had it in me, so I was so excited to show what I can do, that I am an athletic type and that I can move to an elite level.”
That sportiness now belongs to the Panthers – and Rhule couldn’t be happier.
“This is a game made up of top athletes,” said the former Baylor coach, who was playing his second season in the NFL. “When you find top athletes with a love for the game, who treat people well, you have something special.”
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