Dupree Among NFL's Most Disruptive Players of 2020

The Tennessee Titans free agent addition consistently created trouble for opposing quarterbacks in his final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bud Dupree’s career sack numbers alone suggest the free agent outside linebacker will provide an upgrade for the Tennessee Titans defense over the next few years.

There are also other numbers to support that case.

An NFL.com analysis of NextGen Stats determined that Dupree was the NFL’s fifth most disruptive player in 2020 despite a knee injury that limited him to 12 games played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The ranking is based on how much impact a player had on a pass attempt whether or not he actually got the opposing quarterback on the ground – a combined total of hurries, pressures and sacks. Dupree recorded 50 total disruptions and eight sacks, and his disruption rate (disruptions divided by total plays) was 15.7 percent, which placed him just ahead of 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, L.A. Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald (15.5 percent).

Wait, there’s more.

From NFL.com:

He logged the second-most hustle stops -- tackles where the player covers 20-plus yards of in-play distance from snap to tackle -- in the entire league among players with at least 250 pass-rush snaps (6), proving Dupree is more than just a pass rusher. Provided he returns fully healthy in 2021, the Titans will be glad he's now on their side after signing him to a five-year deal this offseason.

One of the big questions regarding Dupree is whether he benefited more from the presence of T.J. Watt on the other side or whether it was Watt, the No. 1 most disruptive player in 2020, who got a boost from Dupree. NextGen Stats suggest it was the latter.

From NFL.com:

In the 12 games Dupree played in, Watt recorded a 19 percent pressure rate. With Dupree out, Watt's pressure rate fell to less than 10 percent, underscoring Dupree's importance to the defense.

Dupree’s eight sacks were more than twice as many as all but one member of Tennessee’s defense had in 2020. That unit finished with 19, third fewest in the league.

Harold Landry led the Titans for the second straight season with five and a half. Over three years in the league, Landry has 19 career sacks. Dupree has had as many as 11 and a half in a single season.

Even if Dupree gets close often, it still will go a long way toward improving things in that regard.