When Bud Dupree hit free agency and secured the bag with Tennessee to the tune of a five-year, $82.5 million contract, it felt like a slam dunk that Pittsburgh would receive a third-round compensatory pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Fast forward eight months and the odds of that happening are shrinking. Yesterday, the Titans placed Dupree on IR, shelving him for at least the next three games. Though he is expected to return this season, the damage may have already been done. According to Over The Cap’s Nick Korte, the leading expert on all things compensatory, Dupree may not reach the snap count threshold to qualify for third-round compensation.
Sunday, Korte sent out a couple of tweets explaining the situation, believing Dupree will need to average 67 snaps per game over the last four weeks – assuming he even returns by then – in order to net the Steelers a third.
Korte’s tweet is a little uncertain regarding the bye week factor, but by either projection, Dupree is not on pace to have enough snaps. If that’s the case, the Steelers would only receive a fourth-round compensatory pick, not a third.
Dupree’s first season in Tennessee has been difficult. Coming off a season-ending 2020 ACL tear, Dupree was ready for Week 1 and played in just the first two games before missing Week 3 with an injury. He returned in Week 6 but was part of a rotation as opposed to being an every-down player in Pittsburgh. From Week 6 to Week 9, he averaged 43 snaps per game. He was injured in Week 10 against the Saints after logging just one snap.
For the season, Dupree has only seven tackles and one sack. From 2019 to 2020, Dupree recorded 19.5 with the Steelers, leading to his big payday.
The Steelers have spent the last two years mortgaging away mid-round draft picks. Here are their projected picks, including comp picks that are subject to change, as Dupree’s situation clearly shows.
Pittsburgh is even in danger of losing that fifth round comp pick, too, if Joe Haeg reaches the 25% snap threshold. He currently sits at 20%, though that number will come down tonight assuming Haeg doesn’t play. Even the sixth-rounder for Melvin Ingram has an unknown condition to it. The only picks Pittsburgh is guaranteed to have for the 2022 draft are a first, second, third, and pair of sevenths.
So if you’re a Steelers’ fan, root for a speedy Dupree recovery. And when he returns to the field, hope Mike Vrabel gives him all the snaps he can handle. If not, the Steelers won’t be getting an extra third round pick next year.
