Bud Dupree, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers
Like many of the players mentioned in this piece, Bud Dupree is a very solid player, and he turned in a career year for the Pittsburgh Steelers off the edge in 2019, notching 11.5 sacks.
That does not mean a team should immediately back up the Brinks truck without doing a bit of research.
While Dupree had the highest sack numbers of his career, according to PFF’s charting data he generated pressure on just 10.1% of his pass rushing plays last season, which was not the top number of his career (11.8% back in 2017). That mark of 10.1% tied Dupree for 63rd among the league’s 99 qualifying pass rushers. Dupree’s 28 pressures a season ago placed him behind his teammate T.J. Watt, who led the league in that category, by generating 59 pressures on opposing passers. Dupree benefited a ton from Watt’s presence, and even when teams slid protection towards Watt and left Dupree in a one-on-one situation, he failed to completely capitalize. PFF charted him with a win rate in one-on-one passing situations of just 13.1%, tied for 50th in the league.
If you can pair Dupree with another talented edge rusher, like the Steelers were able to do last season, Dupree can perhaps match some of his production from 2019. But if you cannot guarantee that, you likely will not see him match those numbers from a season ago.