As the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the clock with the No. 22 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft Thursday night and Kentucky’s Bud Dupree was still on the board, was there ever any doubt what Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert and his staff would do?
Yes the need for help in the secondary is well documented, but so is the need to improve the pass rush.
As the Steelers get ready to head into the 2015 season, they are a franchise who has lost their identity, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The easiest way to get that identity back is by starting to get to the quarterback once again.
The Steelers ranked near the bottom of almost every defensive statistical category a season ago and a major reason for that is they ranked just No. 26 in the NFL with only 33 sacks.
Dupree is a guy that can hopefully change that.
The mere fact that the Kentucky product was still on the board at No. 22 made this pick a no-brainer.
Dupree has Top 10 talent and is the perfect combination of size and speed for an edge rusher.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Dupree should be able to provide pressure in bunches.
He can beat you with his legs off the edge and won’t be overmatched against bigger NFL tackles as he has the size and strength to more than hold his own.
Looking at his film prior to the draft, you see a guy, who while not a polished product just yet, can become an impact pass rusher off the edge. That is something the Steelers have been missing for a few years now.
Dupree has the size and the motor to be effective against the run and the speed to beat tackles off the edge.
While at Kentucky he tallied 23.5 sacks in his career, including 7.5 last season.
I typically don’t put much stock into college numbers, Jarvis Jones’ sack total jumped off the page while at Georgia and we have seen how that has translated to the NFL, but it does show that Dupree has been productive in his career while playing in the SEC.
The Steelers will need the 22-year old Dupree to be productive out of the gate as of the teams 33 sacks last season, 7.5 of them came from the now retired Jason Worilds.
There are plenty of positives to like about Dupree in a Steelers uniform.
As for negatives there aren’t really many.
Dupree isn’t a finished product by any stretch and he had to play under three different defensive coordinators while at Kentucky. Dupree’s instincts have drawn criticism from some scouts, but he has the ability to be an explosive playmaker both as a pass rusher and against the run.
While the need is still there for the Steelers in the secondary, which should be addressed on the second day of the draft, there are a couple factors that Steelers fans have become accustomed to over the past few years.
A bad pass rush can make a great secondary look average and in the Steelers case can make a below average secondary look even worse.
On the other hand a dominant pass rush can make an average secondary look very good.
That’s what the Steelers plan has always been.
I have been very critical of the Steelers drafts over the past few years, but I have no issues at all with this selection.
Dupree not only fills a huge need for the franchise, but at No. 22 also represents great value that late in the first round.
The happiest guy of all should be new Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler as he now has a new toy to play with.
First-round Grade- A
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
Video Credit: ESPN
