Here’s a look at where the top local prospects have been picked during the 2023 NFL draft.

This story will be updated.

Bryan Bresee has a lengthy list of career accomplishments already at the age of 21. As a standout football player at Damascus High School, he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, an All-American and, by some scouting services, the No. 1 overall recruit in the country. At Clemson, he was a freshman All-American and, despite an ACL injury, an all-conference player.

He added another accolade Thursday: first-round NFL draft pick. The 6-foot-5, 298-pound defensive tackle was picked No. 29 overall by the New Orleans Saints.

Bresee terrorized opposing teams on the hardwood and the gridiron in high school, averaging a double-double on the basketball court and racking up 35 career sacks on the football field. That continued in college, where he won Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020.

He was slowed in 2021 by an ACL injury, which shortened his sophomore season. And then, this past year, his younger sister, Ella, died of brain cancer.

Watching the draft from Frederick, as shown on the ESPN broadcast, Bresee and his family wore shirts that said “Ella Strong” and embraced as he was selected by the Saints.

“It was definitely a tough situation losing her,” Bresee said at the NFL combine. “Just seeing her battle through cancer, it was tough, but just knowing what she went through motivates me every day, the fight that she put up and how much she loved watching me play.”

Bresee was the third Maryland native picked in the first round of this year’s NFL draft. Wide receiver Jordan Addison (Tuscarora) and Deonte Banks (Edgewood) were selected No. 23 and No. 24 overall, respectively, by the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants.

“I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old,” Bresee said at the combine. “It’s been a dream of mine to play in the NFL and I’m just super excited to be here.”

Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.

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