Atlanta Falcons Draft Countdown: Making the Case for Bud Dupree at No. 8
The Atlanta Falcons have one of the easiest needs to figure out at the top part of the 2015 NFL draft's first round. They need a pass-rusher—period.
If they don't get one at No. 8 overall, they will be failing new head coach Dan Quinn by not getting him the players he needs to succeed.
The two best fits—Florida's Dante Fowler and Clemson's Vic Beasley—will likely be gone by the time the Falcons pick. That leaves Kentucky's Bud Dupree as the best fit for the No. 8 pick.
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Dupree has three things that really make him stand out from the rest of the candidates for the eighth overall selection.
The first is how well he fits in with the current Falcons regime's character views. After that, it's his perfect fit for the role that Atlanta has passed up during this free-agency period—the "Leo"—and his unreal athleticism.
Ideal Falcon off the Field
Atlanta has been making sure that it has a high-character players within the organization since Thomas Dimitroff took the reins as general manager in 2008. The Falcons haven't drafted anyone who has been arrested or suspended in that span outside of Ra'Shede Hageman in 2014's second round.
Atlanta also looks into the captaincy and leadership of players, and Dupree was a captain for the Kentucky Wildcats in 2014.
The Falcons will love his off-field personality and leadership within the locker room. Dupree can be a great asset to a locker room that will be more than welcoming to him.
The team will love how well he takes to coaching, as he's improved from year to year throughout his college career. His high production level in the SEC comes from a guy who works his butt off every year. Dupree should be a great fit for the Falcons in this aspect.
Perfect Fit for the Leo Role
The Leo in Quinn's defense is a spot that is asked to play one-gap on the same side as the 3-technique defensive tackle. He sees just the outside gap on every single play against the run and is asked to penetrate more than hold up like a standard 4-3 defensive end.
As a pass-rusher, the role is the same as what Dupree played in college. He's asked to bend the edge, attack with inside moves and put a tackle on skates. There's very little coverage responsibility, as Quinn's last Leo (Cliff Avril) dropped into coverage for fewer than 30 snaps in 2013 and 2014 according to Pro Football Focus.
Dupree has the power, speed and bend to create havoc from the edge in any defense, and his fit in the Leo couldn't be better. The Falcons would be making a slight reach in the minds of a lot of analysts, but on my personal board, Dupree is a top-10 pick and would be a great fit at No. 8 overall.
| 2006 | Mario Williams | 300.57 | 1.13851 | 91 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | Vernon Gholston | 282.84 | 1.07135 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2015 | Alvin "Bud" Dupree | 282.45 | 1.06989 | 0 | TBD | TBD |
| 2015 | Davis Tull | 275.13 | 1.04217 | 0 | TBD | TBD |
| 2006 | Mark Anderson | 273.14 | 1.03460 | 36.5 | 5 | 159 |
| 2013 | Jamie Collins | 266.03 | 1.00767 | 4 | 2 | 52 |
| 2009 | Michael Johnson | 266.00 | 1.00758 | 30.5 | 3 | 70 |
| 2011 | Dontay Moch | 265.38 | 1.00521 | 1 | 3 | 66 |
| 2006 | Ray Edwards | 264.52 | 1.00198 | 33 | 4 | 127 |
| 2012 | Nick Perry | 264.14 | 1.00053 | 9 | 1 | 28 |
Member of the 1-Horsepower Club
The best football players in the NFL have a ton of explosion to their game. Because of that, I came up with a metric to address it called my Explosion Score. Here's how the stats breaks down: a player's weight is multiplied by his vertical, divided by a constant and then multiplied by the 10-yard split of the 40-yard dash.
When looking into the units on the score, it is directly convertible into horsepower. Since 2000, only 10 players in edge roles have been able to break the 1.00-horsepower barrier through the score.
Those players are exceptional athletes and have the explosion to be sack artists.
Not all of these players become sack artists, though. Some of them have become busts due to issues not related to their athleticism and explosion. The successful ones have been able to be consistent pass-rushing threats for their teams and understand the football side of things.
The major point here is that the explosion of a player represents his level of potential as a pure pass-rusher. Dupree is near the top of the all-time list.
Since he was somewhat productive in college and has more than just athleticism as his major tool to work with, his ceiling is that much higher.
Should the Falcons pick Dupree, they may not get 100 career sacks out of him, but if he can reach at least the Michael Johnson level of production, they would have someone who can help lead a pass rush that continuously puts quarterbacks in the dirt instead of giving them all day to throw.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus, ESPN.com, cfbstats.com or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac.
Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, college football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He's also a Draft Analyst for profootballspot.com.
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