Most overrated player on every NFL team in the 2022 season
By Randy Gurzi
Tennessee Titans: Bud Dupree, EDGE
A pass-rushing star at Kentucky, Bud Dupree was selected 22nd overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He then spent the first six seasons of his career with the Steelers and had some success — even if he never truly lived up to his draft status.
Overall, Dupree had 231 tackles with 39.5 sacks for Pittsburgh but just once hit double-digits in that department. This came in 2019 when T.J. Watt was starting to really come on strong and take all the attention away from Dupree.
To his credit, Dupree responded with 11.5 sacks that season and was then hit with the franchise tag. He again had a solid campaign, recording eight sacks in 11 games but finished the season on IR with a torn ACL.
Pittsburgh elected not to retain his services and Dupree landed with the Tennessee Titans on a five-year, $82.5 million deal. That’s a huge contract for any pass rusher but especially large for one coming off a serious injury.
As expected, Dupree missed several games in 2021 — playing in 11 with just six starts. He also had career lows in tackles with 17 and sacks with just three. The hope is that he will return to form in 2022 since he will be a full year removed from surgery.
The problem is, he’s being asked to be the No. 1 guy when he’s been more of a No. 2 pass rusher. There’s nothing wrong with that, but teams shouldn’t overpay such a player and the Titans did.