It was a breakout season for Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree. The light finally came on for Dupree in his fifth season in the NFL and we got to see what he is actually capable of. Dupree finished with a career-high 11.5 sacks and lined himself up perfectly for a big free-agent payday.
Should the Steelers fail to be the team to give Dupree his payday, finding a new edge rusher opposite T.J. Watt will be a top priority. In a new 2020 mock draft, we see Pittsburgh doing just that with the choice of Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun with their second-round pick.
Baun is an intriguing prospect in the second round. He came on strong in 2019 and had his best season at Wisconsin. He finished with 11.5 sacks after only getting 2.5 sacks in 2018. In reviewing some games is seems the bump in production was as much to do with opportunity as anything else and his skills were evident in 2018 as well.
Even if the Steelers are able to sign Dupree or franchise him, Baun as a pick makes sense. Dupree and Watt played a ton of snaps in 2019 due partly because of issues with depth.
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