The Indianapolis Colts have made a focus on adding bodies to the defensive front and one of those new names joining the franchise is defensive tackle Taven Bryan.
The defensive tackle will be entering his sixth season in the NFL and looks set to be a part of the rotation on the front of the Indy defense.
Here are six things to know about Bryan ahead of the 2023 season:
1
High school days
Bryan attended Natrona County High School in Casper, Wyoming. He was an All-State offensive tackle for the football team. Bryan was also on their track team where he threw the shot and discuss plus even ran the 100-meter dash. He was the State 4A in discus in his junior year.
Bryan was the number-one recruit in Wyoming and the 45th-ranked offensive tackle in the 2014 class. Despite earning his honors on the offensive side of the ball and playing limited snaps on defense, he wanted to play defense full-time at the next level.
Florida was one of the colleges that were open to him doing that which help lead to his commitment to their program.
2
College career
After redshirting his freshman year, Bryan would go on to play in 30 games over the course of three seasons. The majority of his production came in his final season when he finished with 37 tackles (17 solo), six TFLs, and four sacks. Bryan earned Second Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press that year.
Overall, he had 62 tackles (30 solo), 10.5 TFLs, five and a half sacks, one interception, one pass deflection, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries during his time at Florida.
3
Wyoming Wildman
Bryan’s nickname is Wyoming Wildman and he even trademarked it back in 2018. He was called it during his time at Florida, it’s too bad he missed out on some potential NIL money from it.
4
First Round draft pick
Bryan entered the league viewed as a prospect that had untapped potential because of his athletic ability and lack of experience in playing the position full-time. He was able to showcase his athleticism at the NFL combine which helped push him from being viewed as a Day 2 pick into first-round consideration.
Taven Bryan was drafted with pick 29 of round 1 in the 2018 draft class. He scored a 9.91 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 11 out of 1092 DT from 1987 to 2018. https://t.co/1EVfIsY6Oj #RAS pic.twitter.com/hBTMYPEWtl
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) February 23, 2023
The Jacksonville Jaguars ended up taking him with the 29th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
5
Time in Jacksonville
Bryan’s four seasons with the Jaguars didn’t go as expected for both sides. He only made one start in his rookie season and failed to secure a starting job on their defense throughout his time with their franchise. He played in 63 games while starting in just 17 of those outings.
In his Jacksonville career, he finished with 86 tackles (51 solo), 15 TFLs, five and a half sacks, 25 QB hits, one forced fumble, and one pass deflection. The Jags would go one to decline his fifth-year option which made him a free agent following the 2021 season.
6
One-year stint in Cleveland
Bryan would go on to sign a one-year deal with the Browns. Despite struggling to hold a starting job in Jacksonville, he made a start in all 16 games that he played during his time in Cleveland. In his first season as a full-time starter, he finished with 26 tackles (11 solo), two TFLs, three sacks, six QB hits, and a pass deflection.
