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Dimukeje Selected by Arizona Cardinals in Sixth Round
5/1/2021 4:57:00 PM | Football
DURHAM - Former Duke defensive end Victor Dimukeje was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.
Dimukeje was the 210th overall pick in the draft, and the 26th selection in the sixth round.
Dimukeje, a 6-3, 265-pound Baltimore, Md., product is Duke's fourth 2021 NFL Draft selection as teammates Chris Rumph II, Michael Carter II, and Noah Gray went to the Los Angeles Chargers (118th overall pick), the New York Jets (154th overall pick) and the Kansas City Chiefs (162nd overall pick), respectively. This marks the first time since 1973 that the Blue Devils have had four draft picks in the same year, and the 14th time in program history with four-plus selections. Dimukeje joins Rumph II as Duke's first defensive ends chosen since Shawn Johnson went in the sixth round to the Oakland Raiders in 2004. He is also the 21st Duke draft pick by the Cardinals and the first since Ben Patrick was a seventh round choice in 2007.Â
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Welcome to the Valley, @Vicdimukeje!#CardsDraft x #RedSea pic.twitter.com/fOUoiAyehD
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 1, 2021
A 2017 first team Freshman All-America selection by ESPN.com and two-time All-ACC honoree, Dimukeje finished 1.0 sacks shy of breaking Duke's career sacks record. He started every game during his Blue Devil tenure (49 games) and had 166 tackles, 36.0 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks, one interception, five caused fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and 28 quarterback pressures to his name. He owned 32 games with three-plus tackles and 12 outings with five-plus stops, including a career-high 10 tackles against Miami in 2020. He added five games with at least two-plus tackles for loss, including a career-best 3.5 against Boston College in 2020. Dimukeje also posted a career-high 3.5 sacks versus the Eagles to tie with Rumph II for second all-time on Duke's single-game chart.
In 2,779 career snaps, Dimukeje finished second all-time in career sacks and tied Mike Junkin (1983-86) for eighth all-time on the career tackles for loss list. He was one of three defensive players in Duke history to start multiple bowl game victories (2017 Quick Lane & 2018 Walk-On's Independence), joining defensive back Carter II and linebacker Ben Humphreys.
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???????? ????????, ?????? ?????? ??@Vicdimukeje ?? @AZCardinals #DukeInTheNFL | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/kejK7PrXas
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) May 1, 2021
During his final campaign, Dimukeje finished third in the ACC in sacks and tied for ninth in tackles for loss. In 11 starts, he recorded 44 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two caused fumbles, one fumble recovery and five quarterback pressures. Dimukeje posted two multi-sack games versus Boston College and Syracuse, while registering four games with 1.5-plus tackles for loss. He also finished seventh all-time with 7.5 season sacks.
Dimukeje is the ninth NFL Draft pick to have played at Duke under head coach David Cutcliffe.
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