Pittsburgh Steelers midseason awards: Which players stood out?

Most Improved Defensive Player: Bud Dupree

There shouldn’t be a lot of argument with me here. Many fans were furious that the Steelers elected to give Bud Dupree the $9.2 million fifth-year option this offseason, as they felt he hadn’t deserved it.

Based on his play during his first four seasons, that would be a correct assessment. However, Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert showed us why they have put so much faith in him.

Dupree is having by far the best season of his career. There were many games last year that Dupree was a complete non-factor, but that has not been the case in 2019. Dupree has become more fluid as a pass rusher, and he gets to the quarterback much more consistently.

In 2018, Dupree had 5.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, and 13 quarterback hits over the course of a full 16 game season. However, this year he is on pace to finish with 12.0 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss and 18 quarterback hits.

There is no question Dupree has made massive strides from 2018 until now. The Steelers will have a big decision this offseason when Bud Dupree will be seeking a lucrative new contract extension.