Steelers Nation has spoken and Steelers 2015 1st round pick Bud Dupree is going to be…
…The next Jason Gildon.
At least that is how the voting broke down in Steel Curtain Rising’s post draft poll.
Survey Picks Bud Dupree as Next Jason Gildon
27% of the voters have pegged Bud Dupree to be the next Jason Gildon. Another 23% say he’s going to follow in the footsteps of linebacking legend Greg Lloyd. Close on Greg Lloyd’s heels is current Steelers linebacking elder statesman James Harrison whose support clocked in at 21%.
Apparently outside linebackers coach Joey Porter’s influence only counts for so much, as just 17% of the voters saw Dupree as the next Porter.
- Those are the only players getting any love in this sub-sample of opinion in Steelers Nation.
The next highest vote getter was the 11% who felt the Steelers should have used their first round draft pick on a cornerback. Bryan Hinkle, who provided quality outside linebacking for Chuck Noll’s Steelers squads in the 80’s, found no love, and neither did Carlos Emmons, whom morphed from a 1996 7th round pick into a two year starter.
- Neither Emmons nor Hinkle was bad, but it would be a disappointment if Dupree only managed to develop their level.
Jack Ham, the Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker, only got one vote. That’s perhaps a tad bit ironic, because Dupree’s athletic skill set should at least, in paper, give him the kind of versatility that Ham had. But clearly, projecting Dupree as a future Hall of Famer before he’s even put on the pads is premature.
Word Dupree Coming Out of Steelers OTA’s
There wasn’t a lot of information to come out of Steelers OTA’s on Bud Dupree, which is a marked contrast to Ryan Shazier a year ago. The Steelers shocked much of their fan base in the 2014 NFL Draft, when they took Ryan Shazier in the first round, when everyone knew Pittsburgh was thinking cornerback or wide receiver.
- The Steelers continued to go against the conventional wisdom during OTA’s when they immediately installed Shazier as the starter.
By all accounts, they’re not doing the same thing with Dupree, as Arthur Moats is running with the first unit, although the word is the Bud Dupree is likely to get time at outside linebacker in the Steelers nickel defense.
