Kentucky’s Dupree May Be The Next Ansah For Saints

The scenario with former University of Kentucky defensive end/outside linebacker Alvin “Bud” Dupree and the New Orleans Saints reminds of something similar just two years ago.

A little known prospect named Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah out of Brigham Young University was getting a small buzz leading into the end of the 2012 collegiate football season.

Ansah, born in Ghana, walked on for the Cougars in 2010 with no knowledge of how to play the game of football, even needing help getting his pads on correctly.

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But a great showing his senior year put him in the draft conversation and local sports anchor for WDSU-New Orleans Fletcher Mackel actually mocked Ansah to the Saints, never wavering from him.

Other members of the local media began to follow suit and before long Ansah was in the conversation for the Saints as a player who could help rebuild the 2012 “worst defense in history”.

Aug 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA;Detroit Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah (94) runs on to the field prior to game against the New England Patriots at Ford Field Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

But following a strong Senior Bowl and impressive NFL Scouting Combine, Ansah shot up draft boards and ended up being selected by the Detroit Lions with the 5th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.

The Saints who once were thought to have an excellent shot at landing Ansah with the 15th overall pick that year had to select safety Kenny Vaccaro instead.

Dupree is eerily following the same path as Ansah two years ago when it comes to the draft for this year.

Local Saints beat writer Larry Holder of NOLA.com has been selecting Dupree as their 13th overall pick and has never let up from that choice.

It even forced me to go back and look at Dupree like I did with Ansah just a short time ago and I became more and more enamored with the pick for a few reasons.

Two players that were linked to the Saints early on in January of this year were outside linebackers Dante Fowler Jr. of the University of Florida and Vic Beasley of Clemson University.

Both prospects who had once been sure things became long shots after their performance at the Scouting Combine that was off the charts.

The two that once were Top 15 picks jumped up into the Top 5 in the blink of an eye by March and were said to not even make it past the 10th overall pick.

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Dupree became the most logical choice after that and was thought to easily make it to the Saints…just like Ansah.

But the past month Dupree has been gaining ground and now it’s a huge question mark if the Black and Gold will even be close to being able to pick him.

Photo reprinted with permission by Larry Vaught and vaughtsviews.com

Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com even posted this tweet Monday afternoon:

This does not bode well for the Saints especially if their NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons grabs someone they’ve been secretly coveting.

Nov 15, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Clemson Tigers defensive end Vic Beasley (3) in action against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Analysts began speculating a few weeks ago that the Saints may trade up to grab a pass rusher like Beasley.

They’ll have to in order to get Beasley away from Atlanta. Beasley is a native of nearby Adairsville, Georgia, and actually grew up as a small boy rooting for the Falcons.

One of Holder’s fellow beat writers at NOLA.com, Katherine Terrell, even proposed in one of her mock drafts that the Saints trade up with the New York Jets who hold the 6th overall pick to grab him.

At the rate it’s going though, it looks like Alvin “Bud” Dupree might be the next Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah as far as the Saints are concerned for this draft.

And based on the way it’s turned out so far , that wouldn’t be a bad thing for New Orleans…..

Next: What Will Saints Do Now After Draft Board Shake-Up?