Versatility is Dante Stills' Best Attribute

Where does Dante Stills fit in the NFL? That's a great question. Because of his size, 6'3", 293 lbs, he's what I like to call a tweener. He doesn't have the size to play the interior but doesn't really have the speed to be a defensive end.

The good thing is, Stills has proven that he can play both inside and out in several different alignments. According to WVU head coach Neal Brown, that's one of the aspects of Stills' game that will help him in this draft process.

"Dante's got versatility. You could make an argument that he could fit in a four-down front or a three-down front. And that's where sometimes the d-linemen get pigeonholed because they can only do what is expected out of a four-down or a three-down. He has versatility to do both. He's got video of playing both. He's changed his body. He's even made improvements to his body since January. And I think he's grown in his mental approach. And he's done well when they got him at the board whether it's at the all-star game or in Indianapolis. And he's highly productive. Highly, highly productive at the collegiate level.

"He runs well for his size. The first thing when you think about Dante and when they're looking at him at the next level is his size. He's got measurables. He's got growth potential even. And he's long. Because of how he was used here, you get to see him do a bunch of different things. I think that versatility is really, really benefitting him. He's going to be a plus pass rusher from the interior. If you look at it, the league's trending a little bit more where you're getting more interior pressure. He can run. That's probably his best asset right now."

Personally, I believe Stills would fit better in a 3-4 defensive alignment because he has the ability to take on double teams and can defend the run extremely well. He may not be a top-tier pass rusher at the next level but 3-4 ends that can contain the run AND have the ability to pressure the quarterback are hard to come by. In addition to playing the 5-technique and 4-technique, Stills can slide inside as a 3-tech. Having this much position flexibility will lead to more teams being interested in Stills in the pre-draft process.

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