This is the year of the pass rusher and one of the most talked about players in that regard is Kentucky’s OLB/DE Alvin “Bud” Dupree. Many scouts and draftniks have different thoughts about his 
skill level and how the defender ranks versus the rest of his draft class. I reviewed six of his games against Missouri, South Carolina, Louisville, Mississippi State, Florida, and Vanderbilt to get a better grasp of the talents and skills he brings to the next level. Here are my thoughts:
OLB/DE Alvin Dupree, Kentucky 6’ 4” 269 lbs.
Cons: The first thing I noticed is that the defender lets the blocker, usually the offensive tackle, into his body when running his direction. This makes it harder for him to anchor his spot and force the play back inside. Dupree doesn’t often initiate contact on runs and needs to close the gap in order knock his blocker off-balance. Although the defender is not overly powerful, he relies on his strength over technique. He needs to get his hands up to strike with force more often and shed to the ball.
As a pass rusher, Dupree has not perfected any moves other than spins: he needs to use those spins with combinations of shoulder dips, bull rushes, and/or rips those to tell a different story every time he heads for the quarterback. The defender gets up a little too high in his stance, does not show a lot of fluidity in his hips, and varies his efforts from play to play. When dropping back into coverage, Dupree looks even more stiff-hipped and somewhat unsure of himself.
Pros: The defender is a better pass rusher than he is a run defender. He lined up on the outside in both two and three-point stances while flipping to both sides of the defense, keeping the offense guessing where he would attack. Dupree gets out of his three-point stance quickly, has a good initial step, and usually drove his offensive lineman back from the snap on passing plays. When he stunted inside, the defender fared just as well against interior linemen as he did against offensive tackles.
Dupree displays a lot of flexibility, finds the ball quickly with good vision and anticipation. He has a good chopping tackle that he uses to dislodge the pigskin from the ball carrier. The defender moves well laterally and when he chooses to use his hands, is quite effective swatting people out of his way.
Overall thoughts: He is a bit undersized to play a traditional 4-3 defensive end, but is a good fit for an outside linebacker in a 3-4 who rushes the quarterback most of the time. Dupree reminds me a lot of former Steeler Jason Worilds, who just retired from the NFL.
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