2026 Round 4 Pick 20 - Dani Dennis-Sutton

[DoURant]

Exactly. He did drop. Especially off of some very reliable Draft Boards. I saw him as high as #60 overall on some reliable scouting reports. Consensus was more in that mid RD3 grade. Yet there were some others that were RD4-5 (Enagbare area) By deduction we can get close to what WE valued him at. It’s sort of irrelevant what other teams value DDS. Often theres many teams not even thinking Pass Rusher because their shelves are stocked with Edge by #95 overall. It also could just be that Dani is not an ideal fit in a certain system or role or he’s too similar to someone already on their roster.

Here in GB? He’s literally one of this drafts closest Comp for Enagbare. Ideal fit after choosing not to pay Enagbare. Imo he’s Enagbare’s floor, but much higher Ceiling. Which is why Brian would’ve never traded into RD3 for Kingsley. Brian jumped at the chance for Dani.

The 1st Rd had a bunch of Edge guys taken, and 3rd rd had a run on TE's, which helped push him down. We were fortunate that DDS lasted until the 4th.

 

[Magooch]

DDS is a really interesting player to me. He's one of those guys where when you watch him play... I come away thinking a few things:
- How much of a gap is there really between the "round grades"?
- How much of a player's grade is influenced by the media (i.e. if a few guys start calling Player A a first-round grade and Player B a third-round grade...nobody wants to be the person who sticks out and goes against the grain)
- Maybe I am just really not that good at evaluating players

Because I watch him play and I think...this guy's tape doesn't really look THAT far off from some of the more highly-regarded talents in the draft this year? Maybe he is not a total freak like Reese or Bailey, but when I compare him against guys like Faulk or Mesidor who went late in the 1st...I don't see the gap as really being that huge.

It's also interesting just for one small static point of comparison.
The NFL's draft profiles has DDS with the #1 combine "athleticism score" amongst all DE/EDGE players, along with the #7 "college production score", and the #3 overall DE/EDGE total prospect grade.

Here is how each ranks compared to all the other DE/EDGE that were drafted before him (that I can find, off the top of my head...)

"Production Score"
1. David Bailey
2. Rueben Bain
3. Akheem Mesidor
4. Arvell Reese
5. Zion Young
6. Derrick Moore
(T)7. Dani Dennis-Sutton
(T)7. Gabe Jacas
(T)7. Romello Height
(T)8. TJ Parker
(T)8. Cashius Howell
9. Keldric Faulk
10. Wesley Williams
(T)11. Malachi Lawrence
(T)11. R Mason Thomas
19. Jaishawn Barham

"Athleticism Score:
1. Dani Dennis-Sutton
2. Malachi Lawrence
3. Gabe Jacas
(T)4. Arvell Reese
(T)4. David Bailey
6. Romello Height
(T)7. TJ Parker
(T)7. Keldric Faulk
10. Rueben Bain
11. Cashius Howell
13. Akheem Mesidor
15. Wesley Williams
17. R Mason Thomas
(T)18. Jaishawn Barham
(T)18. Zion Young
20. Derrick Moore

Overall Prospect Grade
1. David Bailey
(T)2. Arvell Reese
(T)2. Rueben Bain
3. Dani Dennis-Sutton
(T)4. TJ Parker
(T)4. Keldric Faulk
(T)4. Akheem Mesidor
5. Gabe Jacas
6. Cashius Howell
(T)7. Malachi Lawrence
(T)7. Romello Height
8. Zion Young
(T)11. Derrick Moore
(T)11. R Mason Thomas
(T)16. Jaishawn Barham
(T)16. Wesley Williams

Now I'm not saying we should put a great deal of stock in those grades on their own, but it's interesting to use for an internal comparison (i.e. within their same grading scale). Why does the 3rd-overall DE/EDGE prospect by their own scale get a 3rd round grade? Just interesting to consider IMO

 

[OldSchool101]

Watched some more film on Dani last night. DDS was one of the more disruptive players on the field in each game. He’s very good at punching the ball out or ripping the ball out. He’s also amazing at using his length to snag runners and QB’s who think they are out of reach. His 6.90 3-cone is exceptional. Then at 6’5.5” his vertical is within 1 inch of 40” and his long jump inside 1” of 11 feet. That’s approaching historic levels at 255-260lb area. That 256lb was likely trimming down for the Combine. I read several scouts said he played more 260-265lb area. He also matched Rashan Garys bench press but at a good 10-15lb lighter.

He’s similar to a more college experienced LVN version. Their TFL is near identical LVN 27.5% and DDS 27.15%. Yet DDS has 7 Forced Fumbles to Lukas 0

Dennis-Sutton was a gift wrapped present. I recall several people in here high on him in Day 2 and I’m a bit late to the party but this kid is legit. Imo he’s an Edge version of Tucker Kraft TE quality. He had no business getting out of Day 2 and in my Mocks I would’ve been all over him in RD3.

 

[tynimiller]

Watched some more film on Dani last night. DDS was one of the more disruptive players on the field in each game. He’s very good at punching the ball out or ripping the ball out. He’s also amazing at using his length to snag runners and QB’s who think they are out of reach. His 6.90 3-cone is exceptional. Then at 6’5.5” his vertical is within 1 inch of 40” and his long jump inside 1” of 11 feet. That’s approaching historic levels at 255-260lb area. That 256lb was likely trimming down for the Combine. I read several scouts said he played more 260-265lb area. He also matched Rashan Garys bench press but at a good 10-15lb lighter.

He’s similar to a more college experienced LVN version. Their TFL is near identical LVN 27.5% and DDS 27.15%. Yet DDS has 7 Forced Fumbles to Lukas 0

Dennis-Sutton was a gift wrapped present. I recall several people in here high on him in Day 2 and I’m a bit late to the party but this kid is legit. Imo he’s an Edge version of Tucker Kraft TE quality. He had no business getting out of Day 2 and in my Mocks I would’ve been all over him in RD3.

I've never had a top 40 guy on my board fall this far....I'm incredibly excited to hopefully watch him make me right! LOL

 

[AmishMafia]

Love the positivity. I hope the lack of respect for him by NFL GMs gives him even more desire to prove himself. I think its an ideal situation for him. With Parsons, who is very prone to take players under his wing, will demonstrate to Dani the level of effort needed to succeed in the NFL.

 

[tynimiller]

Love the positivity. I hope the lack of respect for him by NFL GMs gives him even more desire to prove himself. I think its an ideal situation for him. With Parsons, who is very prone to take players under his wing, will demonstrate to Dani the level of effort needed to succeed in the NFL.

In truth the good thing is no one is expecting him come in and be a rookie all pro...shoot we don't even need him to be incredible or take on 60% of snaps...we just need him/Sorrell/Cox/Oliver to hold serve along LVN's side till Parsons returns.

 

[OldSchool101]

In truth the good thing is no one is expecting him come in and be a rookie all pro...shoot we don't even need him to be incredible or take on 60% of snaps...we just need him/Sorrell/Cox/Oliver to hold serve along LVN's side till Parsons returns.

Exactly. Plus I think we’re going to get a little more reminiscent of 2024 push inside at DL.
Really positive, early accounts of Chris McClellan adapting to various schematics. Then a veteran like Hargrave really being similar to Clark in interior impact is a huge upgrade off 2025. We really missed Kenny more than I think we’d like to admit. That’s resolved now. Plus what we lost in our good Run D in 2024 grades should be mitigated by Chris being in the middle. I think he’ll get a fair of looks. If Dennis-Sutton can just come in opposite in that 20-25% snap count as a solid reliever, we’ll be fine

I’ll also quickly add that Franklin and Cooper are very adept at Rushing the Passer and I felt like 2025 got away from that some. It isn’t help we lost Eric Wilson’s experience as a pass rusher from 2024. This could be one area we utilize more to fill in some gaps until Micah is back. Btw I saw photos of Micah running up a sand hill and was surprised how far along he seems to be for early May timeframe.

 

[OldSchool101]

While Dani is Raw, his athletic traits translate immediately. If we can get Micah back and just stay relatively healthy on the D front, we’ll have some formidable players in the Box.

Ideally to finish the season we’ve got Wyatt, Hargrave and McClellan inside with Micah and Lukas coming off the Edges. Then Cox Jr, Dennis-Sutton, Sorrell and Oliver all as a deep rotation being integrated. It’s a lot of good players and it will be interesting to see who the 2026 riser(s) will be.

 

[tynimiller]

While Dani is Raw, his athletic traits translate immediately. If we can get Micah back and just stay relatively healthy on the D front, we’ll have some formidable players in the Box.

Ideally to finish the season we’ve got Wyatt, Hargrave and McClellan inside with Micah and Lukas coming off the Edges. Then Cox Jr, Dennis-Sutton, Sorrell and Oliver all as a deep rotation being integrated. It’s a lot of good players and it will be interesting to see who the 2026 riser(s) will be.

Don't knock or forget how disruptive Brooks has proven to be at pressure creation. Early on I could see Hargrave hold down early downs reps and Brooks breathe him on passing downs.

 

[OldSchool101]

The 1st Rd had a bunch of Edge guys taken, and 3rd rd had a run on TE's, which helped push him down. We were fortunate that DDS lasted until the 4th.

Yes, Very fortunate. NFL.com was the bottom scoring scout report and leading up to the draft placed him at a #103 overall. Basically a 3rd comp pick. I think that’s a little low. On the other optimistic side he’s bouncing in and out of the rear of Day 1, likely a little too aggressive there.
Personally I think his ranking based on playing with Abdul Carter and only 2yrs of starting level play mixed with favorable production and elite testing was in the back of Round 2-early Round 3. Call it 60’s-70’s overall area. Had McLellan not been there I’m pretty sure he’d be at minimum a conversation in RD3

 

[OldSchool101]

So the more I look into Dani, the more I see he’s Kingsley’s successor. Both came from Power 4 programs and both were disruptive Pass Rushers.

JJ Enagbare used his length (near 35” arms) and short area quickness and mixed it with above average intelligence. That made him an early rotational chess piece with a medium high floor. Probably more medium ceiling.

DD-S has a similar floor in that medium to medium-high range. IMO at worst he’s JJ impact. However he plays faster and he’s 2” taller and playing weight is actually 5-10lb more. Dani also is more explosive from the jump.

However where Dani crushes Kingsley is in Pass protect. That’s become a real part of the game for an Edge player. JJ would get caught flat footed and his last 10 targets went for 100% completion rate. You can’t have that in a passing league. Dani has much faster recovery time when beat and presents problems to QB’s with his 6’5.6” paired with an Elite 39.5” Vertical. This shows up repeatedly on film.

He’s similar to JJ but more well rounded Rush to pass protect. Plus he’s a game finisher his production often came late in games when many players disappear. THAT is where drafting teams missed. He gets better with declining conditions or as the game intensifies and that’s a rare trait. Brady at QB was like that at Michigan and it was also missed because it’s not on a stat sheet. Playoff games Dani stood out at a remarkable pace. Go watch his Playoff games sometime he’s a Riser under pressure.

 

[OldSchool101]

Some areas Dani D needs to clean up.

1. He’ll sometimes pull bonehead plays like Quay would do. He needs better discipline and understanding when to pull off the throttle post whistle.

2. His game did show some up and down porpoise behavior. He’ll disappear for a quarter or a half. Watching him he looks winded. Then as the game wears on his athletic traits spark when others do the same. He’ll be that splash play guy but can evaporate the next series or two.

3. He’s caught on film giving up when the play goes away from him. Oddly it seemed like many big plays went away from his direction. Yet occasionally the play reversed back towards him and he wasn’t playing through the whistle. So he missed some production there. Devonte Wyatt ALWAYS plays through the whistle, he needs to study him

4. He can sometimes be seen arm tackling at the second level. That works in the backfield but once a RB or TE or athletic QB has momentum? they run right through that. Now granted he wasn’t isolated doing it. Sometimes his teammate already had position, but he relied a little too much on others imo. He needs to be thinking more “gang tackling”. Again playing through the whistle and just assume the ball carrier is going to break a tackle. Finish up the play better.

My only concern is was Dani relying too much on other elite Teammates to carry the load? DeLuca or Carter etc were often the leaders, so he was more Robin than Batman. That’ll be a focus. IMO the reason he wasn’t drafted Top 40 is he lets you down a little bit considering his talent t level.
Consistency is everything in the NFL you can’t take plays off and I witnessed him sprinkling in some “off” plays. If he is used for 20-30 snaps he has to go FULL throttle. I’d be concerned if he was playing 45+ snaps like Micah does. I don’t think he’d fair well.