Victor Dimukeje 2021 NFL Draft Overview
Position: EDGE
Height: 6’-3”
Weight: 265 pounds
School: Duke
Victor Dimukeje 2021 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the past four seasons at Duke, edge defender Victor Dimukeje is taking his talents to the next level in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Senior is coming off of another fine season, recording eight sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 27 hurries on 672 snaps. Additionally, Dimukeje also added 16 run stops.
Dimukeje originally joined the college football ranks as a three-star prospect out of Maryland. The high school pass rusher received plenty of interest, drawing in a combined 35 scholarship offers from all across the nation. However, he eventually decided on Duke and spent most of his freshman year as a reserve.
Dimukeje earned a starting job as a Sophomore and put his name on the draft radar. During that season, Dimukeje recorded five sacks, five quarterback hits, and 29 hurries, and a career-high 22 run stops. He followed that up by recording 10 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 26 hurries, and 14 run stops as a Junior.
Strengths
- Technically sound player that understands leverage;
- Wide variety of moves to get to the quarterback;
- Fast off the snap with great reaction time;
- Great footwork with no wasted motion;
- Ideal hand placement during rushing reps – rarely lets a lineman engage him.
Weaknesses
- Not an NFL-caliber athlete;
- Lacks the proper strength to win with muscle;
- Liability against tackles in the run game;
- Hasn’t shown any notable improvements over the past few years;
- Short arms make it hard to get separation from linemen;
- Struggles to recover when beat initially.
NFL Comparison: Jake Bequette
Teams With Need at Position: San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders
Projection: 6th/7th Round
Bottom Line on Victor Dimukeje
Generally speaking, the late rounds of the NFL Draft feature players that have some athleticism, but simply don’t know how to play the position. Victor Dimukeje is the exact opposite of that, as he could very well be the most fundamentally-sound Day 3 pick. The Duke product does all the little things right, has a great reaction time off the snap, and clearly knows the ins and outs of the position.
Unfortunately, you need to be a great athlete to succeed in the NFL, and Dimukeje just isn’t a great athlete. Despite his fine technique, Dimukeje simply lacks the strength and length to match up against collegiate tackles, and that certainly won’t get better at the NFL level. He hasn’t gotten better with time, and doesn’t have the production to justify anything more than a late-round pick.
Sadly, technique can be taught at the NFL level, but athleticism and length can’t be. Somebody should take a shot on Dimukeje, but the fact remains that he has a very limited ceiling. After all, he was doing just about everything correct from a fundamental standpoint in college and still couldn’t put up consistent pressure. That will only get worse at the NFL level. Perhaps he can stick around on special teams or as a depth rusher, but that’s about where his ceiling ends.
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