Background

Bryce Boettcher grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and attended South Eugene High School, where he was a three-sport letterman in baseball, basketball, and football. Prep Baseball Report considered him the top-ranked shortstop and No. 10 overall player in Oregon, while he was also a three-star recruit as a dual-threat quarterback. With no FBS football offers, he walked on at his hometown Oregon Ducks as a baseball player and spent his first two seasons exclusively on the diamond, patrolling center field. When Dan Lanning took over as head coach in 2022 and held open tryouts for walk-ons, Boettcher earned a football roster spot, converted from defensive back to inside linebacker in 2023, and never looked back. He simultaneously played both sports. On the baseball team, he slashed .276/.372/.500 with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases as a senior in 2024. He also earned a collegiate Gold Glove, and the Houston Astros selected him in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He signed a contract with Houston but chose football over the minors. On the gridiron he posted 94 tackles, 8 TFL, and 2 sacks in 2024, winning the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on and earning Second-Team All-Big Ten. He returned for a fifth year in 2025 and posted 136 tackles with 5.5 TFL, a sack, an interception, 6 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles, again earning Second-Team All-Big Ten. Both the Senior Bowl and the Combine sent him invitations. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Boettcher plays as a better athlete than he tests. On the field he looks faster than his near 4.7 speed implies. He turns directions okay, and has solid lateral quickness. With little strength, Boettcher relies on those traits to try to stay unblocked and alive in a play, because while he can disengage, he usually has to move backward to do that.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my LB radar charts, you can find more information here

I did not want to go into it too much in the physical section because it did not quite fit in there, but it is a point on his speed. That testing speed looks better on the field because of his efficiency as an athlete. Being a center fielder taught him routing and quick reactions that help him overcome not having the top pure end athleticism.

There is a downside to that. In baseball, you need to react to the crack of the bat, but in football, reacting to the first thing you see can take you out of the play. He rarely found himself completely for dead, but he had to recover from a false step or three a couple of times a game. Not only that, but combined with a small tendency to lose the ball carrier amongst the trees, he is just out of position to make a play when it goes right past him often enough to make a note of it.

Boettcher offers some interesting play as a cover LB. Through the lack of wasted movement in his game, he can stay up with more athletic players. In zone, he follows the QB well, but can lose track of danger in his zone. He stays a little too static, and lacks the intuition needed to tell where players outside of his eyesight might be going.

In the run game, Boettcher often sits off the line of scrimmage and lets the play come to him. His best plays, though, were when he ran at the line of scrimmage and tried to make an aggressive play at a gap. I know why he stays away, though. Blocking him nearly ruins his play. He does not have the strength to recover laterally and get the blocker off of him, so he needs to disengage by moving back. So he tries to swim around blocks and danger to gaps where he can sit with no one touching him, which too often is five yards past the line of scrimmage.

As a pass rusher, it is all about finding gaps for Boettcher. He has the vision to see them, and the athleticism to go through them, but rarely enough to finish them.

Grade and Outlook

Boettcher will be 24 before the season starts, so one would have to assume there is not a lot of juice left to squeeze here in terms of development. Though maybe because he is only concentrating on football now, he will? I think his coverage ability will be valuable and maybe a strength and conditioning program can add some strength so he can hold up better in the run.

Grade: 4.3 (4th Rounder)