Steelers Need Group Effort to Replace Bud Dupree

It's the strength of the pack that will help ease the loss of Bud Dupree for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

As we all know by now, the Steelers lost Bud Dupree to a season-ending ACL injury in their sloppy 19-14 win over the Ravens. 

All things point to rookie Alex Highsmith taking over as the predominant right outside linebacker on the team. Even though they have their replacement, the process will be a lot more involved than merely inserting Highsmith into the defense and going about business as usual.

There aren’t many players in the NFL who could come in and replace Bud Dupree. Surely, Alex Highsmith and Ola Adeniyi aren’t either of those players.

Throughout the season, Highsmith clearly separated himself from Adeniyi as the number three edge defender. Adeniyi will definitely get a fair share of snaps, though. He will now be tasked with giving T.J. Watt a rest when needed, as well as rotating in with Highsmith situationally. Replacing Dupree will have a lot to do with scheme; neither Highsmith nor Adeniyi possess a skillset like Dupree’s.

Against the run, both Highsmith and Adeniyi have shown flashes of excellence this year. They both have reps on tape of setting the edge and dropping ball carriers in the backfield or forcing ball carriers to cut back into the pursuing linebackers. One difference will be the speed of these two players getting into the backfield. 

While Highsmith is the better athlete of the two, neither have Dupree’s speed nor burst. We’ve seen Dupree be left unblock on the backside of run plays to the offense’s right side numerous times. He’s fast enough to get there and make the play in the backfield, where Highsmith and Adeniyi likely won’t make the same plays. This will allow teams to worry less about the backside in that situation and send more attention to Watt, Stephon Tuitt, and company.

Replacing Dupree’s presence as a pass rusher will be a bigger challenge for these two young players. In limited reps from Highsmith, we have seen the potential he has as a pass rusher. For now, he’s better against the run, but that can change. Based on his college tape and play in the pros, we know he’s a really good athlete who’s quick off the ball and has a nice bend around the edge. But again, he’s no Bud Dupree. 

The good news is that aside from Watt and a little bit of Tuitt, most of the Steelers pass rush success comes from scheme and playcalling, rather than one-on-one domination. 

Playing beside Cam Heyward will definitely help both Highsmith and Adeniyi in the pass rush. 

Heyward is a force of a crasher and can absolutely take on two blockers to free up the edge rushers on an inside stunt. Each guy is capable of getting to the quarterback if they get through the line unblocked. Further, with Dupree out, the right edge defender will likely see less attention sent their way. 

Watt, Tuitt, and Heyward will now see a little more attention from opposing offensive lines and running backs because teams will be more comfortable with their left tackle taking on Highsmith or Adeniyi one-on-one. The good news is that those three guys are good enough to beat the extra attention that they’ll see. And they’ll create some opportunities for Highsmith and Adeniyi in the process. 

The Washington Football Team is a perfect matchup to get these young guys (again, mostly Highsmith, but we’ll see some Adeniyi) acclimated. 

Washington has given up 35 sacks this year, tied for third-most in the league. Left tackle Cornelius Lucas has been steady this year, so the two edge defenders will still need to put in a strong showing against a bad offensive line. 

They will likely be challenged against the run in this game, too. Washington’s backfield is full of speed, so they will look to run to the outside a lot. And when their options are to run at T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith, they’ll pick Highsmith more often than not. 

So the replacements will be challenged this week for sure, both against the pass and the run. After the game, we will have a better idea of how big of a drop off in play to expect the rest of the year due to Dupree’s absence. 

Connor Deitrich is a Contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Connor on Twitter @CDeitrich22, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.