Elvis Dumervil

Dumervil recorded 17 sacks in 2014, matching his personal career-best mark and setting a new Ravens franchise record. He often came off the field in favor of Courtney Upshaw on early downs, but Dumervil is still one of the league's top pass-rushers on a per-snap basis. In two years with the Ravens, he's tallied 26.5 sacks and 68 tackles in 31 regular-season games. Dumervil will likely continue to lose snaps to Upshaw in 2015, but the departure of Pernell McPhee should leave more opportunity for both players to stay on the field at the same time.

Dumervil continues to be a solid source of sacks, but he is coming off a season with just 31 tackles, his lowest-total in quite some time. Granted, he's never been known as a big tackle-accumulator, but he's basically turned into a part-time player in Baltimore after being mostly a three-down DE for the Broncos. After his breakout season in 2009 when he had 17 sacks, Dumervil has notched 9.5, 11 and 9.5 in the last three years, respectively. With Courtney Upshaw playing most snaps and Dumervil likely only seeing the field on passing downs, an increase in tackles shouldn't be expected, although he proved last year that he can pile up the sacks in limited plays.

Dumervil, who racked up 11 sacks, 54 tackles, and six forced fumbles for the Broncos last season, will help fill the Ravens' pass-rushing void created by Paul Kruger's departure in free agency. Dumervil won't necessarily be an every-down player in Baltimore, with Courtney Upshaw likely handling some of the workload in running situations.

Von Miller may be the more valuable player on the real football field, but Dumervil is the top IDP option between the two elite Denver pass rushers. The reason is simply because the former Louisville star has unambiguous defensive line eligibility – his top competition aims for 70 tackles a year, while Miller, a linebacker, has to chase players who reach the 120-tackle mark with relative ease. Dumervil has 52.5 sacks in 75 games despite missing time and playing through a shoulder injury in 2011, a rate that projects to roughly 11 sacks per year. Consider him more likely to get 14 sacks than 11 in 2012, though – he would have had much better numbers in 2011 had he not dealt with that shoulder issue, as evidenced by him finishing last season with 9.5 sacks in the final nine weeks after posting zero sacks in his first four games. Dumervil could see more pass-rushing opportunities than in past years because the arrival of Peyton Manning should result in opponents playing more catch-up than has recently been typical against Denver, in which case more pass attempts would be called against the Broncos.

Dumervil's 2010 was wiped out by a torn pectoral muscle, but there's good reason to expect him to bounce back this year. An upper-body muscle tear shouldn’t compromise Dumervil’s game as an edge rusher – his game was always more about burst on the outside rather than upper-body strength anyway. In coach John Fox’s 4-3, Dumervil should be a good bet to hit double-digit sacks after totaling 43 in his first four NFL seasons. If there is any concern it’s probably in regard to the players around him. Denver took Von Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's Draft and added Derrick Harvey, Ty Warren and Broderick Bunkley via free agency. Some, if not all, of them will have to produce or else coordinators will be able to single out Dumervil in pass protection.

Dumervil led the NFL with 17.0 sacks in 2009 and should be able to get close to that amount in 2010. He has become an elite pass rusher and the team's defensive schemes are built around Dumervil being able to get to the quarterback. While he may not lead the league in sacks again, he should be near the top of the list.

Dumervil is coming off a disappointing season after his sack total dropped from 12.0 in 2007 to 5.0 in 2008. With the additions of Andra Davis and Robert Ayers, there should be plenty of competition for sacks and Dumervil will have to fight for his place on the field. Nevertheless, he begins the season at the top of the depth chart and it is up to him whether he works hard enough and produces enough to remain there.

Dumervil displayed his tremendous potential in 2007, recording 12 sacks. He had four multisack games and eight zero-sack games, showing some inconsistency, but he never went more than three games without a sack. Still, we're most interested in season-long upside and Dumervil has a lot of that. He was deployed more regularly in 2007 after playing mostly on passing downs in 2006 as a rookie, when he picked up 8.5 sacks. With more experience and a continued full-time role, Dumervil should be in the running for another double-digit sack campaign in 2008. He has good speed and is only 24 years old.

Dumervil is listed as a backup defensive end on the Broncos depth chart, but he should easily have the best fantasy season of any Broncos' lineman. He recorded 8.5 sacks in 2006 in a very limited role playing only on passing downs. He's expected to see a bigger role this season, and new defensive coordinator Jim Bates is known for developing young defensive ends.

Although Dumervil has been a bit slower in his development this preseason than the Broncos had hoped, they will probably expect some sort of contribution from him at some point in 2006. He currently sits third on the depth chart at left defensive tackle, but he could move up quickly.