Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Stutsman was a three-star recruit from Foundation Academy in Winter Garden, Fla. in the class of 2021

Oklahoma Sooners star Danny Stutsman is a two-time All-American, but he ranks below the top tiers of linebackers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Stutsman could provide starting snaps early in his career but carries concerns in coverage and a limited ability to combat blockers.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Danny Stutsman, LB Oklahoma: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior middle linebacker from Windermere, Fla.

Background: Stutsman was a three-star recruit from Foundation Academy in Winter Garden, Fla. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 402 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 388 (four-star) for On3.com. Stutsman was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 78 grade out of 100. He wrapped up his high school career with 333 tackles, including 47 for loss with 20 sacks, and eight forced fumbles on defense, plus 3,252 all-purpose yards and 43 touchdowns on offense. As a senior, Stutsman amassed 78 tackles, five sacks, and two interceptions in eight games. He also totaled 588 rushing yards, ten rushing touchdowns, 542 receiving yards on 25 receptions, and seven receiving touchdowns. That season, Stutsman led Foundation Academy to the 2020 Florida 2A state semifinals and was the West Orange Times and Observer All-Area Player of the Year. As a junior, he was a member of the Florida 2A All-State Team as a wide receiver when he tallied 891 yards and 12 touchdowns on 44 receptions and 30 carries for 202 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. Stutsman picked up 110 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, three sacks, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown on defense that season. His sophomore year included 650 yards and 11 touchdowns on 43 receptions, 101 yards on 11 carries, and 59 tackles with two sacks. Stutsman’s father and mother played football and basketball, respectively at Baylor, while his sister, Sabrina, played softball at Florida State.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed three games in 2021 with a left elbow injury, missed 2023 Oklahoma State game after suffering an ankle injury vs. Kansas, played through food poisoning vs. BYU (2023)

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big 12, 2023 First Team All-Big 12, 2023 Third Team All-American (Associated Press), 2023 Team Captain, 2024 First Team All-SEC, 2024 Second Team All-American (Associated Press), 2024 First Team All-American (AFCA, Walter Camp Foundation)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, team captain and leader, patiently sits at the second level in run support, tracks and mirrors running backs from the second level, good recognition of run lanes and how to fit them, steps down to greet the running back in the hole, swim move to defeat blockers, nice lateral hops and explosiveness to evade blockers, motor runs hot in pursuit, speed to prevent ball carriers from turning the corner on outside runs, delivers big hits, head on a swivel in coverage, sticks with TEs and RBs to the flat, quick click and close on short passes, drops under intermediate routes to close throwing lanes, dips pad level as a rusher to duck under linemen, fires through the A-gap for pressures

Cons: Arm length is good but not great, walking on stilts, lean lower half, speed falls short of elite, lacks true sideline-to-sideline range, struggles to navigate muddy boxes, too easily disrupted by blockers, lacks play strength to stack and shed linemen, easily wiped out of plays by climbing linemen, ends up on the ground too easily, bites on misdirection, overruns gaps, overruns ball carriers in space, lacks twitch for sudden corrections, hip stiffness and agility limit ability to redirect quickly and mirror elite athletes, struggles to finish plays one-on-one, shaken out of his cleats by elusive players in space, slides off arm tackles, missed tackles have been a consistent issue, lacking coverage instincts, covers limited ground in coverage, looks uncomfortable working at depth in coverage, not usable in man coverage, covers grass not players

Overview: Stutsman is a team leader with the potential to become a locker room pillar and culture-setter at the next level. He offers immediate special teams experience on five units. Stutsman’s arm length might meet the league’s thresholds, but they won’t turn heads. His lower body lacks mass and limits his ability to generate power. Stutsman patiently reads plays from the second level, mirroring running backs until he drops the hammer in the hole. He tracks the ball well but is a step too quick to bite on misdirection at times. Stutsman’s recognition of run lanes and natural feel for fitting gaps rank among the best in the class. He lacks true sideline-to-sideline range but showcases the burst and speed to close quickly. He prevents playmakers from turning the corner and forces them back inside toward pursuing defenders. Stutsman is guilty of overrunning gaps inside the box and opening cutback lanes by over pursuing outside runs. He’s a smooth mover when not operating near his top speed, but hip stiffness pops up when he needs to redirect suddenly or decelerate quickly. The Florida native lacks the twitch to mirror agile playmakers, and he struggles to finish plays in space. There are too many examples of him being juked and left grasping at air. Stutsman uses swims to defeat blocks and avoids taking on contact with laterally explosive hops. His motor is always cranked up, and he delivers some bone-rattling hits. He struggles to keep himself clean when the box gets muddy and lacks the play strength and mass to stack and shed blocks. Offensive linemen easily clear him out, and he winds up on the turf too often. Stutsman keeps his head on a swivel in coverage and quickly closes to limit YAC on underneath passes. He makes some plays sinking under intermediate routes to sit in throwing lanes but isn’t an instinctive coverage linebacker. The All-American appears uncomfortable working at depth and doesn’t have ideal range. He can cover players to the flat but performs poorly in man coverage against detailed routes. Stutsman suffers from sliding off arm tackles constantly due to inconsistent strike points, playing too high, and not being agile enough to remain square to ball carriers.

Overall, Stutsman is a proven leader with a natural feel for fitting the run and flying to the ball with bad intentions, but he’s a limited option in coverage and fails to stack and shed blocks in a timely manner. Stutsman could slot in as an early-down linebacker to open his NFL career but will be picked on by offenses.

Role & Scheme Fit: Middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme

Round Grade: Late Fourth Round

Size: 6'4", 243 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 12-16-24