The NFL draft begins April 30 in Chicago, with all 32 teams looking for the next great pro talent to emerge from the SEC.

We’ll take a position-by-position look at the SEC’s draft prospects in the days leading up to the event. We started with running backs, receivers and defensive tackles and we continue with defensive ends.

The SEC claims three of the five best edge rushers in this year’s NFL draft pool, according to esteemed analyst Mike Mayock of the NFL Network.

RELATED: Who will replace the SEC’s premier outgoing DL?

Even by SEC standards, 2014 represented a banner season for the conference at defensive end. We rated the Top 10 players at the position after the season, and seven of them are available in this draft.

It seems the defensive end position is as stacked entering the ’15 draft as it has been in many years. So what is the current buzz on the draft-eligible SEC defensive ends?

BIGGEST STAR: DANTE FOWLER, FLORIDA

Entering the NFL Combine, lots of questions existed about which player would become the first edge rusher drafted in 2015. Shane Ray? Vic Beasley? Randy Gregory?

From the outside, at least, it seems like Fowler has ended that debate.

At 6-foot-3 and 261 pounds, he ran a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, in addition to displaying explosion in both position drills and jumps. After a strong pro day as well, the emerging consensus is that Fowler is a near-lock as a Top 5 pick and the most coveted defensive end/outside linebacker type in this draft.

“I think the best fit for a 3-4 is Dante Fowler, and I like him at 255 or 260 over those other two guys,” Mayock said, according to the Washington Post.

“Now Gregory and Shane Ray are gifted, long, they’re going to get bigger and stronger. But the way I look at the 3-4 outside linebacker in order, No. 1, you have to be a great pass rusher or have the ability to develop into one. Number two, you’ve got to set the physical edge, and number three, you’ve got to be able to drop in coverage, and that’s the least important of the three. I think Dante Fowler is the guy that checks off all three of those boxes.”

After his pro day, Fowler insisted that the Jacksonville Jaguars will pick him at No. 3 overall, calling himself a perfect fit for the team’s multiple fronts on defense. Fowler is correct in that he’d be an oustanding fit for the Jaguars’ defensive scheme. But Jacksonville also should consider USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams with that draft slot.

If Fowler falls past No. 3, expect both Oakland (No. 4 overall) and Washington (No. 5 overall) to give him strong consideration.

RISING: Bud Dupree, Kentucky

Dupree’s name has started popping up in plenty of first-round mock drafts in the last several weeks.

It’s no surprise considering his NFL Combine — at 6-foot-4 and 269 pounds, Dupree ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash and out-leaped every linebacker and defensive lineman in Indianapolis in the standing broad jump by six inches.

Kentucky took advantage of that superb athleticism, dropping Dupree into coverage at times and having him line up on either side of the offensive line.

A plus run-stopper as a potential NFL outside linebacker, and one of the most polished coverage guys either dropping into zone or running man-to-man with a tight end or running back, Dupree’s biggest weakness is as a pass rusher.

He did post 7.5 sacks in 2014, but given his outstanding size/speed combination, that number should’ve been a lot higher. A good NFL coach may be able to train him, but it will take time, as Dupree fits the “raw” buzzword as a pass rusher and doesn’t have many technical skills — things like converting speed to power, beating an offensive tackle who moves his feet fast enough to cut him off and taking advantage of leverage.

That’s a slight knock on Dupree, at least as a first-round prospect, considering how many outstanding pass rushers are available in this draft. But if a team feels it can harness his physical abilities there, Dupree could become a very good NFL outside linebacker in two or three years. His versatility and potential may be too much for some team to pass up in the first round.

FALLING: Markus Golden, Missouri

As I wrote recently, Ray and Golden have been going in different directions in the eyes of NFL scouts since pretty early in the 2014 season.

Golden doesn’t have top-end explosiveness and burst. Several NFL evaluators have indicated that some of Golden’s strong college production won’t translate to the NFL because it came against weaker underclassmen offensive tackles or as a result of having a relentless motor.

By itself, never giving up on a play is a great trait to have for a defensive player. But it also may indicate some of Golden’s production his last two seasons at Mizzou wasn’t because he dominated a quality offensive tackle by exploding off the snap and beating him to the edge.

At times with the Tigers Golden seemed like the better player against the run. He got by in college, but especially at the NFL level, Golden still must learn to shed blocks to get to ball-carriers. He’ll get a chance to latch onto an NFL roster, likely as a mid-round pick. But don’t expect his name to get called early in the draft, and if he wants an extended stay as a pro, he’ll probably have to earn it on special teams.

NON-SEC PLAYERS TO WORRY ABOUT (INCLUDING DE/OLB TWEENERS)

  • Vic Beasley, Clemson
  • Randy Gregory, Nebraska
  • Nate Orchard, Utah
  • Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA
  • Mario Edwards Jr., Florida State

THREE BIG QUESTIONS

  1. How many SEC defensive ends will get selected in the first round? Dante Fowler, Shane Ray, Bud Dupree and Preston Smith all are realistic possibilities.
  2.  Might there be more SEC defensive ends drafted the first two days (Rounds 1-3) than all other conferences combined?
  3. Will less-heralded members of this SEC defensive end class like Danielle Hunter, Za’Darius Smith and Trey Flowers find roles on active rosters as NFL rookies?

THREE TO WATCH FOR 2016

  1. Jonathan Allen, Alabama
  2. Alex McCalister, Florida
  3. Carl Lawson, Auburn

RECENT BUZZ

  • LSU must be wondering how on earth it didn’t get more production out of Danielle Hunter the last two years. After an outstanding NFL Combine, Hunter “blew scouts on hand out of the water” during positional drills at LSU’s pro day, according to NFL.com. One scout even said Hunter is a better pro prospect than Barkevious Mingo, the No. 6 overall pick in 2013. Hunter is a clear potential-over-production guy. Which team will use a speculative pick on him, and how early?
  • The phrase “rotational edge rusher with upside” keeps getting attached to Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers. He doesn’t have great or even good speed at the position. He’ll always be better against the run than as a pass rusher. But he’s got long arms and big, strong hands, in addition to great power for his size. He projects anywhere from the second to the fourth round and fits best in a 4-3 scheme. I think some team is going to get a steal of a pick in Flowers, particularly if he falls late in the second day or early in the third. I see him as an NFL starting defensive end within two or three years, one that won’t get more than a handful of sacks even in a 16-game season, but a player capable of wearing down a lineman as a plus run defender with power and a strong motor.
  • While there hasn’t been much written about Mississippi State’s Preston Smith or Kentucky’s Za’Darius Smith during the pre-draft process, both players should get drafted in the first two or three rounds with a good chance to produce legitimate NFL careers.