After stellar junior and senior seasons at Kentucky, Bud Dupree is going to be a first round pick in the 2015 NFL draft, probably falling between the following three teams: Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Ravens have the 26th overall pick (the last among these three teams), but might be the most interested in him, if we’re taking what assistant general manager Eric DeCosta said about the pass rusher who can play both outside linebacker and defensive end (his position over the last two years, earning him All-SEC honors in 2014), seriously.

Bigger guy, extremely athletic, tremendous combine workout. Another guy, he can play in space, he’s got size, he matches up very well in coverage versus tight ends, which is unusual to find an outside linebacker who has that.

Dupree isn’t crafty or creative in his pass rushing. He’s simply one of those guys that’s so gifted physically, it’s impossible to ignore, even if he does need a little bit of polishing. The Ravens do need a cornerback and wide receiver but they’ve lost Pernell McPhee and their two leading pass rushers, Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, are both past 31.

The Saints have the 13th overall pick and they could use a pass rusher in that spot, but that might still be a bit early for Dupree, who is among a very deep class of edge rushers, likely to start getting picked as early as the number two or third overall picks. The Bengals at 21 might be the most reasonable of all places in terms of value, but the Ravens might try to move up in order to get him.

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