There’s Just Something About Dani Dennis-Sutton

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It was hard to ignore Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton on his 2025 game film.

General defensive stats:

42 tackles (26 solo)

3 forced fumbles

12.0 tackles for a loss

3 passes defended

Pass rushing stats (Pro Football Focus):

6 sacks

45 pressures

13 hits

Special Teams:

3 blocked punts

Dennis-Sutton made himself impossible to ignore.

Believe me, I tried.

What do you mean you tried?

I tried.

I really did.

But he did just too much on film to ignore.

And this is about finding playmakers.

Penn State Defensive End #33 Dani Dennis-Sutton forcing the turnover vs. Nevada (2025) pic.twitter.com/yV2gdUnkBa

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) March 11, 2026

Then there’s the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine

What happened at the Combine?

Dennis-Sutton crushed it.

Now, I’m not one for basing too much on pre-draft testing results, but once again, Dennis-Sutton’s results can not be ignored.

“Dennis-Sutton posted an unofficial Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.96 out of a possible 10.00, ranking ninth among 2,046 defensive ends tested between 1987 and 2026. Since 2015, the only defensive end to have a better RAS score than Dennis-Sutton is Cleveland Browns EDGE Myles Garrett (9.99). His closest athletic comparisons include established NFL pass rushers such as Danielle Hunter, Jevon Kearse (retired) and Maxx Crosby.”

Nittany Sports Now

What did all this do?

It moved Dennis-Sutton to the top of my list of prospects to evaluate based on their 2025 game film. I had put a third-round grade on his 2024 game film. He was on my list “to do,” but way down the list.

I’m sure glad I did.

Seeing things differently

I’ll admit ⎯

Dennis-Sutton is one of the toughest game film evaluations I’ve ever done.

How come?

He has this annoying habit of disappearing on game film, only to reappear during BIG MOMENTS.

Sort of like a magic trick.

“Dani Dennis-Sutton. Finally his name is called and it comes at a very opportune time.”

– CBS Sports

Penn State vs. UCLA (2025) pic.twitter.com/CrM3sUH22b

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) March 21, 2026

What changed?

I went from seeing him for who he was, rather than focusing on what he couldn’t do or wasn’t doing.

His 2025 game film just really opened my eyes.

Dennis-Sutton also looked “better” on his 2025 game film than what I recall thinking when I evaluated his 2024 game film.

And I wasn’t the only one seeing it.

Pro Football Focus confirmed what I was seeing:

2024:

Defensive Grade: 73.2

Pass Rush Grade: 75.0

Run Defense Grade:70.8

2025:

Defensive Grade: 80.1📈

Pass Rush Grade: 79.7📈

Run Defense Grade: 77.7📈

Penn State Defensive End #33 Dani Dennis-Sutton making his presence felt

Vs. Clemson (2025) pic.twitter.com/X0qxL4HnGR

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) March 11, 2026

Martial arts

One of the first things I noticed on Dennis-Sutton’s 2025 game film was that after a sack early on in the season, he did a gesture of a “bow.” * Check out the video clip below. My first thought was, “That looks like something someone would do in martial arts.”

Sure enough…

I stopped the game film and did a little research…

Turns out Dennis-Sutton had gotten into martial arts.

“I also did sort of some MMA things to help with my hands, just precision, and things like that”, Dennis-Sutton said (pennlive.com).

That filled in some blanks for me.

That helped to explain why he looked better to me on film in 2025.

He looked better leveraging space and blockers.

Penn State Defensive End #33 Dani Dennis-Sutton sacking the quarterback

Vs. FIU (2025) pic.twitter.com/Trh4skn6U2

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) March 11, 2026

#33 Dani Dennis-Sutton 6-foot-5, 265 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2026 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by NFL Mock Draft Database to be a Third Round prospect as of March 21, 2026

Penn State Defensive End Dani Dennis-Sutton “Disappointing” (2024: 14 games evaluated)

2025 game film evaluated: Nevada, FIU, Villanova, Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Clemson (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Highly emotional opportunist. Paces himself. Inconsistent motor. Looks possessed at times. Lumbering presence. Bully. Alpha. Violent. Athletic. Long arms. Seeks vulnerability. Strong. Inconsistent getting off the snap. Four offside penalties. Heavy hands. Looks somewhat raw. Inconsistent hand usage. Pass rush tools shown: headfake (4x), rip (11x), spin (23x), swim (3x). Above-average bull-rush. Inconsistent “X” stunts. Can hard press the edge. Good at flushing quarterbacks. Hammers people. Good at playing the spy position. Inconsistent hand usage and noticeable stiffness vs. pass and run. Gets fooled by misdirection. Reluctant vs. run. Gets really fired up.

Final words

Dennis-Sutton is a game-wrecker.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. Featured in USA Today. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.