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NFL Draft Profile: DE Bradlee Anae, Utah – Dallas Cowboys

BRADLEE ANAE, DE – UTAH: 5th RD, 179th pick, Dallas Cowboys 

A consensus All-American and Utah’s all-time leading sack man, Anae obviously brings next-level pass rush ability to the table. The 2019 Morris Trophy winner possesses a quick first step and packs one hell of a punch off the line-of-scrimmage. Has a uniquely aggressive play style, both at the snap and to finish plays. He displays schematic versatility and can successfully set the edge in multiple ways. He can rush with a hand up or down with equal effectiveness. As a pass rusher, he’s also consistent. Not only does he leave Utah as the all-time leader in sacks, he also led the team in each of the three seasons as a starter. Often called an “effort guy”, Anae makes a lot of his plays by simply outworking tackles and causing havoc. Because of that, there are some concerns about his discipline in reacting to the run or dropping in coverage. Those flaws can be corrected, but they also make it more ideal for him to land in a spot where he can set the edge and focus on getting to the quarterback – Dallas, seemingly a good fit.

THE MAYOR OF SACK LAKE CITY: ANAE’S TIME WITH THE UTES (via Utah Athletics)

UTAH: 2019 consensus All-American … 2019 Morris Trophy winner … two-time first-team all-conference defensive end (2018-19)… led the Utes in sacks three seasons (2017-19) … 30.0 career sacks broke the Utah school record … school-record 210 sack yards … holds the school record for TFL yards (245) … fourth all-time in school history in total TFL (41.5) … six career forced fumbles is tied for eighth all-time at Utah … 38 career starts over 47 games played.

2019: Utah’s ninth consensus All-American after earning first-team honors from Walter Camp, FWAA, Sporting News and AFCA and named Associated Press third team … also earned first-team All-America honors from Bleacher Report, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Phil Steele and USA Today and second-team honors from The Athletic and CBS Sports … first-team All-Pac-12 … defensive winner of the Morris Trophy, given to the most outstanding defensive lineman as selected by the league’s starting offensive linemen  … finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award and Polynesian Player of the Year … semifinalist for the Lombardi and Bednarik Awards … started all 14 games at left end … ranked eighth in FBS (second Pac-12) with 13.0 sacks (0.93 sacks per game), which ranks tied for fifth in a season at Utah … 91 sack yards ranked fifth in FBS, second in the Pac-12 and ranks fourth all-time in a season at Utah … tied for second in the Pac-12 and led Utah with 14.0 tackles for loss (1.00 per game) … 92 TFL yards ranked sixth in a season at Utah … 41 total tackles … two-time Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week (ASU, Arizona) … named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week after recording a season-high seven tackles with a sack vs. Arizona … six tackles vs. Texas in the Alamo Bowl, including a half sack to break the Utah school career record … five tackles vs. USC … named Bednarik Award Player of the Week, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week after recording 3.0 sacks with a pass breakup against Arizona State … 3.0 sacks as part of four tackles against Northern Illinois and also forced a fumble … 1.5 sacks (five tackles) vs. Colorado … 2.0 sacks for 23 yards vs. UCLA … two tackles with a nine-yard sack vs. Washington … did not have any tackles against BYU but had a quarterback pressure that led to an interception … team captain.

2018–First-team All-Pac-12 … started all 14 games (the last 11 at right end) … led the Pac-12 with 8.0 sacks … 15.5 tackles for loss tied for third in the Pac-12 and ranked second on the team … 51 tackles led the defensive line … three pass breakups … season-high seven tackles with 1.5 TFL (1.0 sack) against BYU … six tackles (1.0 TFL) vs. Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game … five tackles (3.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks), a forced fumble and pass breakup against Stanford … five tackles against Colorado included 3.0 TFL and a sack … five tackles (1.0 TFL, 0.5 sack) and two pass breakups against Weber State … five tackles (1.0 sack) against UCLA … four tackles (1.5 sacks) vs. Washington State … three tackles (1.0 TFL) and a forced fumble against Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl.

2017–Played in 13 games with 10 starts (9 at right end, 1 at tackle) … Pro Football Focus all-conference award winner as one of the Pac-12’s two best edge rushers … tied for second in the Pac-12 in forced fumbles (3) and fourth in fumbles recovered (2) … tied for seventh in the Pac-12 and led Utah with 7.0 sacks … 10.0 TFL tied for the team lead … 39 tackles led the defensive line … career-high eight tackles (2.5 sacks, 3.0 TFL) with a forced fumble against Colorado … five tackles (1.5 TFL) vs. UCLA … five tackles vs. Arizona State … four tackles (1.0 sack) against Arizona … four tackles (1.5 sacks) and a forced fumble against Washington … three tackles (1.0 sack) and forced and recovered a fumble against San Jose State.

2016–Played in six games … four total tackles with 2.0 sacks … two tackles and a sack vs. Colorado.

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