A player’s production is closely correlated with how that team utilizes said player; an average player can get above-average production when his team harnesses his strengths and a great player can have average production if the team doesn’t play to his strengths. Alvin “Bud” Dupree’s situation exemplifies this idea. If you glance at Dupree’s 2014 stats, it doesn’t appear to be anything special. He is 79^th in tackles for loss (8.5), 45^th in total sacks (5.5) and 61^st in sacks per game (0.61) among college football players. However, those stats don’t accurately represent the type of player “Bud” is and how he projects to the NFL.

When you have a player that is a dynamic pass rusher, it would behoove you to put him in a role that allows him to rush the passer as much as possible; however, this is not the case for Dupree. He plays as an outside linebacker in Kentucky’s 3-4 defense, which means he has responsibilities in coverage or he rushes the passer on any given pass play.

This cuts the number of opportunities he has to rush the passer by a significant amount, which coupled with the fact that teams often send extra help his way when he does line up and rush the passer; he doesn’t get as many opportunities to produce at the same rate and level such as players like Hau’oli Kikaha or Shane Ray. Nevertheless, Dupree is every bit the pro prospect of Ray and an even better prospect than Kikaha.

Now you may be wondering, what makes Dupree so great, even though he is lacking the elite stats that other upper-echelon prospects have?

Dupree is a senior defensive end/outside linebacker for the Kentucky Wildcats who has prototypical size that can fit as a 4-3 defensive end or a 3-4 outside linebacker as he is listed at 6-foot-4 and 264 pounds. In a class that is void of edge rushers with great size, Dupree’s size and athleticism may turn him into a valuable commodity come draft time.

The first trait that jumps out when studying “Bud” is his ability to bend around the edge to get to the quarterback. Dupree is a pure speed-rusher through and through. He wins with his reactionary quickness, upfield burst, balance and closing burst; a lethal combination for any pass-rusher. When a rusher is performing a speed rush, they usually attack up field for three to five yards, while attacking the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. If an edge-rusher can do this correctly, it opens up a wide variety pass-rush techniques that they can use depending on the tackle’s reaction.

If the tackle opens his feet too much, they can perform an inside rip or swim move to get the quarterback. If the tackle is trying to recover and has his weight distributed unevenly the rusher can convert their speed rush into a powerful bull rush to put the tackle on skates. Nevertheless, one of the rarest traits for an edge rusher to have is the ability to finish the speed rush by bending around the edge.

This means that once a rusher reaches the apex of the pocket, they sink their hips, stick their outside foot flat on the ground as their bodies lean inside to sharpen their angle as they make their way to the quarterback. This requires a great deal of flexibility in their ankles and hips along with a great deal of balance and core strength to not get knocked off their path.

Here is a great example of Dupree’s bend as he gets a sack:

On this occasion, Dupree is lined up at the left outside linebacker position on the line of scrimmage. Notice that his head is slightly turned so that he can see the ball with his peripheral vision. As soon as the ball moves, Dupree explodes up field for three steps, as he takes his fourth step he starts his bend, which allows him to tighten his angle to the quarterback. With the tight end still engaged on the side of his body, Dupree exhibits great balance as his body leans inside at a 45-degree angle to continue his bend. He then closes on the quarterback extremely quickly and meets his teammate in the backfield for the sack.

What is incredible about this play is that Dupree gets to the quarterback at the same time as his teammate who was unblocked. That shows how great his initial burst and closing speed truly is.

We just talked about one way an edge-rusher can win when they correctly perform an initial speed rush. On the last play, Dupree used his bend to squeeze the pocket and explode to the quarterback. It is incredibly important that an edge-rusher has a diverse array of ways to get to the quarterback.

If an offensive tackle knows that all an edge rusher has in his repertoire is a speed rush while bending around the edge, then he will just push the rusher past the quarterback and out of the play. Dupree realizes this fact so he has developed numerous ways to beat a tackle, while employing the same initial speed rush. The next way Dupree can win when he uses his speed is by using an inside move to counter a tackle that opens his shoulders in an attempt to defend the speed and bend around the edge.

“Bud” utilizes this inside move well here:

On this play, Dupree is lined up as the left defensive end in a three-point stance. Once again, he gets a great jump on the snap and is the first Kentucky defender through the line of scrimmage. This puts an extreme amount of pressure on the right tackle’s pass set, which causes him to have to open his shoulders extremely early. With the tackle’s shoulder almost perpendicular to the line of scrimmage, Dupree knows he won’t be able to get around the edge this time. Therefore, he plants hard with his left foot, sinks his hips and uses his right hand to leverage the tackle’s momentum and push him by. This gives Dupree enough separation to accelerate forward to sack the quarterback as he attempts the climb the pocket.

These two plays show that Dupree has a variety of ways to defeat blockers when he uses his speed rush. Also, it shows that he knows how to set up opposing blockers and change his pass rush in the middle of the play.

If there was one area where Dupree tends to struggle, it is when he gets locked in at the point of attack in the run game versus an opposing blocker. Dupree doesn’t have strong enough hands to jolt opposing blockers, which won’t allow him to create enough separation from the blocker’s chest to be able to disengage and get to the football. Another troubling area is that Dupree sometimes gets a narrow base at the point of attack. This allows opposing blockers to drive him back a few yards from the line of scrimmage and it also allows blocker to turn him out of a hole, which creates a running lane for opposing running backs.

This is one example of Dupree’s struggles at the point of attack against the run:

On this play, Dupree is lined up head on with LSU’s tight end in a two-point stance as the left outside linebacker. At the snap, Dupree gives ground way too early. You would want to see him attack the blocker here by sinking his hips and firing his hands inside the tight end’s breastplate as he locks out his arms. This would give him enough separation to be able to disengage whenever he saw fit to give chase to the running back. However, Dupree allows the tight end to get his hands on his own breastplate, which allows the tight end to win the leverage battle. Dupree makes matters worse by allowing his feet too get to close together, which allows the tight end to easily turn Dupree perpendicular to the line of scrimmage and give the running back a crease to run through.

The good news about these negative traits are that they are easily fixable. An NFL defensive line coach will refine Dupree’s hand usage and base at the point of attack, which will allow Dupree to not give as much ground.

One aspect of defending the run where Dupree excels is his ability to shoot an inside gap and pursue a run from the backside. Dupree’s first-step quickness allows him to get across the face on opposing offensive linemen, through the gap and into the backfield, which lets him use his great closing burst to close on opposing ball carriers.

This play epitomizes this trait:

Here, Dupree is lined up head up on the tight end as the left outside linebacker in a two-point stance. After the snap, LSU offensive line and tight ends begin to work laterally to set up their outside zone run play. However, Dupree is way too quick for the tight end as he gets into the C gap and starts to pursue laterally down the line of scrimmage. Dupree’s penetration disrupts the running backs cutback lane as Dupree tackles him for a short gain that would’ve been much longer had he not gotten penetration.

Dupree’s size and athletic traits make him a player that can fit into any scheme in the NFL, which is rare. These scheme-diverse players are usually coveted because if a team ends up switching defenses, for one reason or another, they will be able to fit in just fine, which makes the transition smoother. Even though “Bud” has the ability to fit into any scheme, he would be at his best in an aggressive 4-3 defense. Dupree thrives when he can put his hand in the dirt and utilize his incredible first-step, bend and counter moves.

Initially, Dupree will likely struggle defending the run in the NFL because of his inconsistent hand usage and footwork issues; however, once he gets some NFL coaching and time to refine his techniques, he will be able to thrive as an every-down player.

While Dupree isn’t as refined of a pass-rusher like Vic Beasley, he has similar initial quickness despite being two inches taller and 29 pounds heavier. Dupree’s ceiling as a pass-rusher is higher than any other player in the class outside of Randy Gregory.

In a draft that boasts one of the deepest edge-rusher classes in recent memory, Dupree has the ability to stand out from the rest.

Projection: Top 20