Penn State Edge Rusher Seems Like A Todd Bowles OLB
April 20th, 2026
Penn State edge Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Remember on Thursday night when you are jumping up and down, hoping upon hope the Bucs pick Akheem Mesidor (or some other edge rusher), there’s more to the story. Picking the guy isn’t even half the battle.
Remember, Bucs coach Todd Bowles often says about edge rushers, he asks them to do other things.
(And no, Joe doesn’t expect Bowles to scrap his 34 defense this year and flip to a 43 — but he may have the players to pull that off.)
With Bowles’ philosophy in Joe’s mind, Joe was reading Bob McGinn’s breakdown on edge rushers on GoLongTD.com. A guy from Penn State jumped out at Joe because, as McGinn typed, it seems this Dani Dennis-Sutton does other things than just rush the passer.
He is lauded for his ability to drop back into coverage.
(Don’t kill the messenger.)
9. DANI DENNIS-SUTTON, Penn State (6-5 ½, 259, 4.60, 2-3): Blew out the combine with a fast 40 and edge bests in the broad jump (10-11) and 3-cone (6.90). “He’s really talented,” said one scout. “Big, strong, fast. The guy can be a starter at defensive end. If you watch him drop you’d say this guy definitely can be a starter as a 3-4 outside guy. He can be hard to coach. Kind of my way is the way.” Played extensively all four seasons, finishing with 127 tackles (34 ½ for loss), 23 ½ sacks, seven forced fumbles and eight batted passes. “He’s got personality quirks, if you want to call it that, where he kind of marches to his own drum,” a second scout said. “He’ll go two or three, probably three.” Arms were 33 ½, hands were 10 1/8. Persistent knee problems remain a concern. “There was so much hype on him two years ago,” a third scout said. “I watched him, I didn’t like him. Last year, I didn’t like him at all. This year, I thought he played a lot better. Solid player. Don’t think he’s going to be a dynamic pass rusher. I think he lived off of last year when (Abdul) Carter flushed a lot of things and he cleaned it up. This year, they had another young kid (Chaz Coleman) and he was the beneficiary of some of that. He’ll play in the league for a long time.” Four-star recruit from Millsboro, Del. Added a fourth scout: “Good speed and acceleration, very quick hands and some nice moves. Occasional starter initially and then I could see him fitting in just about any kind of defense.”
Joe’s not trying to be an a-hole. One reason the Bucs are bereft of an edge rush is exactly why Bowles explains to people he has them do other things. Joe does not expect that to change.
So if the Bucs are looking to draft a second edge rusher — Joe has zero issues with the team loading up on edge rushers and hoping by odds and simple dumb luck they might stumble upon a player.
So this Dani Dennis-Sutton sort of bristles at coaching? It would funny if Bowles told him to cover a tight end on a third down and he blew off the orders and instead sacked a quarterback, and turned to the Bucs bench hollering, “That’s how you get off the field!”
McGinn has Dennis-Sutton as his No. 9 edge rusher. Scouts McGinn talked to believe Dennis-Sutton is a second-night draft pick.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Dennis-Sutton as his No. 13 edge rusher in “The Beast,” also believing Dennis-Sutton is a second-night pick. CBS analyst Emory Hunt has Dennis-Sutton as his No. 6 edge rusher in his 2026 Football GamePlan Draft Guide.
Lastly, Joe asked the NFL IQ bot if Dennis-Sutton was a fit for Todd Bowles’ defense. The bot seems to think (?) Dennis-Sutton is a better fit for the Bucs than many who will be drafted ahead of him.
Bottom line: DDS is a strong schematic fit for Bowles’ defense — arguably better than some higher-drafted edge prospects who are pure speed rushers. If Tampa Bay can land him on Day 2, it could be one of the better value picks of their draft.
Gulp.
Dani Dennis-Sutton's athleticism shows up. 22.2% TPS win rate the last two years. Nasty spin move as an interior rusher and shows he can drop in coverage pic.twitter.com/JPWeydvmIM
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 27, 2026
April 20th, 2026 at 9:07 am
LOL!
“Seems Like A Todd Bowles OLB”
You mean he is just a guy who can get 2-3 sacks a year and cover TEs/RBs/Wrs 25-30 yards down field?
Oh goody…
Why not just make a trade with the Eagles for JTS?
Hopefully it won’t cost us another 1st round pick.
LOL!!!!!!
April 20th, 2026 at 9:10 am
My point is this – the Bucs already have (6) mediocre OLBs on this roster…
Do we really need another one?
Come on man!
April 20th, 2026 at 9:16 am
Comon Joe, LOL
April 20th, 2026 at 9:24 am
If he is hard to coach, he’ll fall. Far.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:26 am
Marine hit it on the head lol….
bowles has said himself his defense ask edge players to do “a number of things” outside of just rushing the passer lol….
bowles likes to manufacture own sacks lol….thats what got him the defensive guru label lol
GO BUCS!!!!
April 20th, 2026 at 9:32 am
You all beat me to it. They can’t sack the QB, or cover in the flat. Joe just keeps serving up easy pitches across the plate.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:36 am
JL shouldn’t draft for Bowles, who is more likely to be axed after this year than come back in 2027.
Draft good football players regardless of Bowles ridiculous scheme that only confuses his own players.
Man thos franchise really had a moment and that was the moment they let a young offensive wizard walk out the door and kept an old crusty Bowles. Haunting moment for those franchise.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:41 am
OLB are not Edge Rushers
They are Linebackers that set the edge, play in space, drop in coverage
In a 3-4 hybrid defense, on most plays, one OLB rush the passer
The other OLB has to do other things
He has to perform like a 4-3 weakside LB
Your goal is to pressure the QB
I don’t know why people think it has to come strictly from OLB
That don’t make sense
April 20th, 2026 at 9:48 am
The Tampa Bay Bucs are the 7th ranked defense in Sacks during the last 5 years
The have 223 sacks during that time, which only 6 teams has more
So they are a Top Tier pass rushing team
The problem isn’t a lack of pass rush
The problem is too many soft players on the defense
The offense has the same problem
Too many soft players on the offense as well
April 20th, 2026 at 9:49 am
Would be even funnier if he hollered “You like that!”
April 20th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Why switch to 4-3 from 3-4 when Todd’s defense has been so successful?
April 20th, 2026 at 9:52 am
Nice speed, size & motor. A nice day two pickup. Trading back and picking up an extra 2nd would give Licht a ton of options. Hope he’s able to swing a deal.
April 20th, 2026 at 10:09 am
Lakeland Says:
April 20th, 2026 at 9:41 am
In a 3-4 hybrid defense, on most plays, one OLB rush the passer
The other OLB has to do other things
it seems as if both OLBs are doing other things and neither is getting after the QB consistently…
but yeah we have too many nice guys on the team especially on the LOS…we havent replaced Suh’s and Jensen’s nastiness in the trenches
GO BUCS!!!!
April 20th, 2026 at 10:30 am
Thanks, Joe. You just ruined my appetite.
April 20th, 2026 at 10:31 am
When your defensive front goes from 23 sacks in 2024
To a mere 10 sacks in 2025, it affects the entire defense
It has the same effect as a strong run game in 2024
To a non-existent run game in 2025