Summary

Dani Dennis-Sutton (22 years old) is a defensive end who has played his entire college career at Penn State with no transfers. In 2025, Dennis-Sutton started throughout the season and recorded 48 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and 9.0 sacks, earning him First-Team All-Big Ten honors and All-America consideration. Dennis-Sutton has maintained solid academic standing and is widely viewed as a disciplined, team-oriented defender whose length, physicality, and preparation habits consistently draw praise from coaches, with no publicly reported significant off-field incidents. Teammates frequently highlight his work ethic and attention to detail in both practice and film study as indicators of his maturity and leadership presence. From an injury standpoint, he has been durable throughout his career, with his only major strife coming from a lingering groin injury that limited him in 2024, but DDS still featured in 51 career games.

Strengths

Go-Go Gadget Arm: His go-to is a heavy inside long-arm that can lock out and walk tackles back when his pad level is right. He doesn’t just convert speed to power — he wins with leverage and extension.
Edge Daddy: Rarely gets widened by tight ends. Sets a firm edge and understands how to squeeze gaps rather than just fly upfield. Already plays like a pro-style strong-side DE who can handle early downs against gap schemes and doesn’t get washed when offenses run directly at him.
Compact Base: Built through the hips and thighs, so when he drops weight, he’s difficult to uproot and can re-anchor mid-rep. Not just a first-step player as he stays engaged, re-works hands, and wins late in reps when quarterbacks hitch.
Inside Counter: When tackles jump his power, he shows the ability to cross face with violence and attack the near hip. Once he clears, he closes with real force with non-finesse physical finishes, capping off his career with a strong showing at the Senior Bowl.

Weaknesses

Out the Blocks: Solid get-off but generally tackles aren’t forced to panic-set vertically. Wins with strength and length more than suddenness so elite quick-twitch tackles can match his initial move.
Bend/Ankle Flexion: More of a power-strider than a low-hip cornerer. Even though he was a leader in the 3-cone at the Combine (6.90), his rush doesn’t always compress the arc with true speed/bend stress.
Move Sequencing: At times he’ll repeat the long-arm without layering a counter plan across multiple snaps to set tackles up. If he develops a consistent secondary (club-rip, inside spin, or cross-chop), his game will go into hyperdrive.
Production vs Traits Gap: Physical tools suggest takeover potential, but game-to-game disruption hasn’t always matched that ceiling.

Outlook

Dennis-Sutton projects as a long, explosive edge defender with rare power-to-speed conversion, heavy hands, and the closing burst to consistently compress the pocket, giving him high-end three-down starter upside. He fits best in attacking 4-3 or hybrid fronts that allow him to rush from wide alignments, reduce inside on passing downs, and win with length and leverage rather than playing as a two-gapping base end. Based on current consensus big-board traction from major aggregate outlets, Dennis-Sutton is trending as a fringe Round 1/Round 2 prospect for any club looking for a three-down edge defender who has the stamina to take 70%+ snaps per game.

Pro Comparison: Greg Rousseau

Team Fits: SF, NE, TEN, KC, CIN

Report written by Filip Prus