4 former Steelers that the team will miss the most in 2021

Steelers watch Bud Dupree head south

Bud Dupree is one of the better success stories that this team has seen in recent years. While his first few seasons were on the slower side, he finally exploded the past couple of seasons and became one of the better edge rushers in the league. While his athleticism was always there, it seems like he finally developed a quality move set to get after the quarterback.

While it was always unlikely that the Steelers would retain Dupree, that doesn’t make his loss any easier to deal with. Sure, Alex Highsmith looked good last season playing in reserve and eventually in place of Dupree after he was lost for the season, but pass rusher is a difficult position to be great at. Unless Highsmith takes a gigantic leap forward, the pass rush on this defense will regress.

Dupree developed into a fear player across from T.J. Watt, and with that threat no longer there, it could allow teams to focus more on Watt. At the very least, the other outside linebacker is more of a question mark than it has been the past few years. Highsmith flashed, but he lacks the experience that Dupree had. It was impossible to bring him back for another season, but that doesn’t make losing him any easier.