2010 NFL Draft Boom, Bust or Bleh: Carlos Dunlap DE Florida

Well if you want on the field production, Carlos Dunlap is your man. He tallied 18.5 sacks in the last two seasons and was named the defensive MVP of the BCS Championship game 2 years ago. There are a lot of questions surrounding Dunlap but production is not one of them.

There are 2 red flags when it comes to Dunlap. The first is his off the field behavior. He was pulled over for a DUI the week of the SEC Championship game last season. The second comes in the effort that he puts forth on the field. As I said above, there is no question about his talent, but he is going to have to put out the effort if he expects to be successful at the next level.

Scouting reports after the jump.

Carlos Dunlap

6'6 1/2, 277 pounds | Defensive end | Florida

Pass Rush/Closing Ability/Moves and Counter Moves: Totaled 19 sacks over the past two seasons. Can get the quarterback from every angle, best used as an interior rusher on passing downs. Uses a nice spin move to the inside gap while maintaining balance and power. When his leverage is right, Dunlap can use a variety of moves to get past a blocker and in to the passer’s face very quickly. Strong bull rusher that can collapse a pocket.

Pursuit/Lateral Movement/Agility: Very agile for a player his size. Can stay on his feet and keep his balance when moving east/west. Can close a gap in the open field fast with his long strides, makes a lot of tackles/sacks from behind.

Quickness/Explosion: Slow off the ball, late reaction. Often the last defensive lineman to move post-snap. Does not shoot out of a cannon, instead gets out of his stance too high which slows him down even more at the point of attack.

Run Defend/Recognition: 25 tackles for loss over the past two years. Very strong at the point of attack and can toss away a blocker with ease when his technique is right. Uses his length well to play with a lot of range within the tackle box. Slow to react, can be set up easily by a counter.

Here is what the folks at Alligator Army had to say about him:

Strengths: Very long arms and legs, Dunlap gives the appearance of someone much leaner. He can be quick off the ball and has good enough balance to knock balls down. His stat line doesn't blow people away, but he only played as a sophomore and junior. He had 18.5 sacks the last two seasons.

Weaknesses: He is not refined and does not have a real avoidance move. Dunlap can seem to take run plays off, as he much rather get up field and sack the quarterback. Despite nearly every athletic advantage, he really isn't fast. It is his long legs that get him moving. Also, looks like a WNBA player when he has dreds.

Character: After finally ending the whispers of his immaturity, Dunlap was hauled in for a DUI the week of the SEC Championship Game. Urban Meyer called it out of character for Dunlap and Dunlap has expressed remorse. But, it fits into a pattern of a player who didn't take practice and workouts seriously until his sophomore season.

Where will he go: Raiders with the 8^th pick, of course.

Draft Countdown Scouting Report.

It seems that we have the same discussion with every defensive end that we talk about.  Stop me if you have heard this one before, if anyone can get him to play hard it is Jim Washburn, blah, blah, blah.  Dunlap has too many red flags for me.  He has the ability to be a very good player in the NFL, but he hasn't shown me that he has the desire to reach his potential.  For me it still goes Derrick Morgan, Brandon Graham, everybody else.