On the draft board: West Virginia’s Dante Stills

During last week’s NFL Combine, many reports and rumors surfaced about April’s NFL Draft in Kansas City. Among those was a report that West Virginia defensive tackle Dante Stills had met with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stills — who is the son of former Kansas City defensive end Gary Stills, who spent seven seasons with the team from 199 through 2005 — was a very productive college player who is looking to rise up draft boards.

Here’s what to know about this draft prospect who is on the team’s radar:

Background

Stills was a four-star recruit from the state of West Virginia, ranked as the state’s top recruit and seventh-best defensive end in the country. His pedigree comes not only from his father, but also his brother Darius, who was also a great player at West Virginia. Darius entered the NFL Draft after the 2020 season and had a short offseason stint with Kansas City the following summer.

Dante, however, has become the more accomplished of the two. Over the last five seasons, Stills was named first-team All-Big 12 twice and made the second team in the previous two seasons. Over 55 career games, Stills produced 53 tackles for loss and 24.5 sacks — while also forcing five fumbles.

This week, Stills measured at over 6’3” and 286 pounds. He came in with a relatively short arm length at 32 3/8 inches. In the athletic testing, Stills ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash — the third-highest time among defensive tackle prospects. He also had one of the group’s fastest three-cone times, finishing the drill in 7.38 seconds.

Film evaluation

Stills was a versatile player on West Virginia’s defensive front. He had the stout frame to play on the inside, but also the movement skills to come off the edge and create pressure.

When he was on the inside, Stills used a good first step and active, strong hands to create quick penetration — or just fill his gap against the run. He needs that quick first step because he doesn’t have the mass to hold up on the inside without creating momentum into the engagement.

When he’s on the edge, his size prevents him from being fast up the arc. He makes up for it by playing with good leverage and using his hands like a true edge rusher: grabbing wrists and trying different moves. He also plays with his head up, reading and reacting well to screens or quarterbacks leaving the pocket.

At the bare minimum, Stills’ unique combination of athleticism and natural power will give him a chance to be a contributor in a pass-rushing rotation — no matter whether that’s primarily as an inside or outside rusher.

How he fits with the Chiefs

If Stills comes to Kansas City, it’s easier to see him losing some weight to play on the edge instead of the inside. But on passing downs, that could still put him on the interior — similar to how Kansas City used defensive end Mike Danna last season.

The bottom line

Stills was a very productive player in college, has a solid pedigree and fits one of the Chiefs’ positions of need. While he’s likely to be a Day 3 pick, he’s one who provides the versatility that Kansas City wants from its depth defensive linemen.