Danny
Stutsman.
Danny
Stutsman.
Oklahoma· 6'3"· 233 lb· 4.52s 40
"A highly instinctive linebacker with excellent sideline-to-sideline range and the processing ability to flow directly to the ball, Stutsman projects as an immediate contributor on special teams with the upside to develop into a starting WILL."Pre-draft read
Stutsman is a downhill, old-school off-ball linebacker with genuine range. At 6-3 and 233 pounds he diagnoses run fits quickly, fills with his shoulders square and arrives with pop — the 119- and 110-tackle seasons at Oklahoma were not accumulation, they were a player getting to the ball first. He runs 4.52, and the pursuit is real on outside zone where he beats the block to the alley.
In coverage he is more athlete than technician. He carries verticals in zone and reads the quarterback well enough to have picked off three passes, but his man reps against backs and tight ends are grabby, and his change of direction in space lags his straight-line speed. He is a willing blitzer whose pressure came from timing, not a rush plan.
The Saints' defensive scheme typically employs a 4-2-5 nickel with a strong emphasis on varied blitz packages and disciplined zone coverage principles.
Initially a key special teams contributor and sub-package linebacker, he projects as a Year 2 or 3 starter at Will linebacker with strong coverage responsibilities.
A purely gap-sound, two-gap 3-4 defense where his primary role would be taking on and shedding offensive linemen for run stuffing.
Stutsman's athleticism and coverage ability make him a valuable asset in a modern, pass-centric defensive scheme that prioritizes speed and versatility at the linebacker position.
Danny Stutsman | Oklahoma Career Highlights (2021-2024)
Danny Stutsman | Linebacker | 2024 Oklahoma Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
Danny Stutsman Oklahoma Highlights
Stutsman was one of the most productive linebackers in college football over four years at Oklahoma, and the tackle totals do not lie: 47 games, 354 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three interceptions and seven pass breakups.
The arc was steady and then dominant. Thirty-eight tackles as a freshman, then 119 with 10.5 TFL and two picks in 2022, 87 tackles and 13.5 TFL in an injury-shortened 2023, and 110 tackles with eight TFL as a consensus All-American in 2024 — his first year facing an SEC schedule after Oklahoma's move, which is exactly the level-of-competition test the profile needed. He was the defensive identity of a program that had very little else going for it.
Where he lost ground was in coverage and in the projection. Teams saw a fill-and-flow WILL with a downhill trigger and instincts against the run, but not a linebacker they trusted to erase a tight end in man or run the middle of the field in nickel. The testing was solid rather than special — 4.52 forty, 34-inch vertical, 22 bench reps, 32⅛-inch arms — the profile of a good athlete without a defining trait. That combination, elite production and a two-down projection in a league that plays nickel two thirds of the time, dropped him to the fourth round. New Orleans took him at 112.
- 01
Run diagnosis
Reads guards and reacts fast, filling downhill with square shoulders before the back reaches the second level.
- 02
Production
354 career tackles and 33.5 TFL across four seasons, including a consensus All-America year in the SEC.
- 03
Sideline range
4.52 speed that shows up chasing outside zone and beating the alley block to the ball carrier.
- 04
Tackling reliability
Wraps and drives through contact; the missed-tackle rate stayed low even on a defense under constant stress.
- 05
Blitz timing
Seven career sacks and consistent pressure from delayed A-gap pressures where his trigger is the weapon.
- 01
Man coverage
Grabby and late out of transitions against backs and tight ends, the single reason his projection is two downs.
- 02
Change of direction
Straight-line speed outruns his short-area agility; he loses ground redirecting in space.
- 03
Block deconstruction
Gets caught up in trash and struggles to disengage when guards climb cleanly to the second level.
- 04
Pass-rush plan
Wins on timing rather than technique, so the blitz production may not follow him against NFL protections.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.52sp50
- Vertical
- 34inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 22repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oklahoma | 10 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Oklahoma | 13 | 119 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | Oklahoma | 12 | 87 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | Oklahoma | 12 | 110 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 47 | 354 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Productive tackle machine who anchors the run defense while the nickel package handles third down.
Big, downhill run-and-hit linebacker whose instincts made him a full-time starter despite coverage questions.
Two-down linebacker whose real value ends up being core special teams snaps.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
New Orleans put him on the field right away. Stutsman played all 17 games as a rookie and finished with 53 combined tackles — 25 solo, 28 assists — with no sacks or takeaways, splitting linebacker snaps and carrying a full special teams role on a Saints defense in transition. That is a healthy, available rookie contributing without being handed the green dot, which is roughly the ceiling for a fourth-round off-ball linebacker in year one.
In hindsight the shape of the rookie season matches the shape of the evaluation almost exactly. The run-down snaps came, the tackles came, and the passing-down work did not — no interceptions, no pass breakups worth noting, no evidence yet that the coverage limitation has been solved. The good news is that the availability and the tackling translated instantly. The referendum is still the same one from draft weekend: whether he can stay on the field on third down, or whether the league eventually pays him to play two downs and special teams.