I've been excited to write this one because I think Bradyn Swinson was the most underrated player on this Tigers defense in 2023, and I think he has a case for being the best defensive player on this defense in 2023.

Bradyn Swinson transferred to LSU after three seasons at Oregon. His freshman season, Swinson appeared in all seven games (received a redshirt for the COVID year) and totaled just three tackles and one pass defended in 64 snaps.

In his redshirt freshman season in 2021, Swinson played in 11 of the Ducks 14 games, recording 24 tackles, two passes defended, three sacks and one forced fumble before finishing 2022 with just eight tackles.

After seeing limited playing time in 2022, Swinson decided it was time for a move, and he joined Brian Kelly's LSU squad before the start of this year. He made his presence felt early, totaling three pressures, four tackles and four stops (a stop constitutes a "failure for the offense" according to PFF) while earning the teams second highest defensive PFF grade with a 75.8.

Like most of the starters, Swinson saw limited time in the Grambling game where he totaled one pressure in 15 snaps. He followed that performance up with a three tackle, one pressure game against Mississippi State, but after the SEC opener, Swinson really got going.

In the next three games, Swinson would play 89 snaps and logged six pressures, one sack, one forced fumble and two stops while recording the second highest defensive grade on the team against Arkansas.

The game against Missouri was arguably one of his best. He finished with three pressures, a sack, two hurries and forced a fumble that all but sealed the Tigers only top-10 win this season.

While the Missouri game was great, especially towards the end, his best game statistically came against Florida. He led the team by a wide margin with an 89.7 defensive grade, recording five pressures, three hurries, one sack, one batted ball and one forced fumble.

While he didn't have too much competition because of the Tigers defensive struggles, Swinson finished the season with the highest defensive PFF grade, had the most QB hurries, pressures and led the team in pass rush win rate. He also finished second on the team in pass rush grade. He did all of that while being on the field for just over half of LSU's defensive snaps this season.

While most of the defense struggled, Swinson was a true bright spot on this Tigers defense. He still has another year of eligibility, and if he returns to LSU for 2024, he should, and likely will see his role become even bigger as they try to turn this defense around.