By the Numbers: New Titans EDGE Bud Dupree

The Titans made a splash on the first “legal tampering” day of the new league year by reportedly signing Steelers EDGE Bud Dupree. The deal can’t be made “official” until Wednesday, but it’s safe to say that Dupree will be in two-tone blue next season. Ian Rapoport had it first:

The Titans’ pass rush was beyond woeful last season and general manager Jon Robinson decided to pay top dollar to try to fix the problem. The contract numbers are in, and they are BIG:

The terms of the contract suggest that Dupree was Robinson’s guy all along — and make no mistake, Robinson was willing to let Jonnu Smith and Corey Davis walk in order to land his man.

It’s a lot of money and years, but the $35 M guaranteed portion indicates that the Titans can get out of the deal after two or three years if things don’t go well. That’s how NFL contracts work. But things should go well. Dupree is a good player and he’s been very productive as of late. He fits the Titans culture and defensive identity. He strikes me as a Mike Vrabel player. He should pair well opposite Harold Landry.

Let’s take a deeper look into how PFF graded Dupree throughout the 2020 season.

Total snaps played: 609

Run defense snaps: 212

Pass rush snaps: 365

Sacks: 9 (T-12)

Hurries: 25

Forced fumbles: 2 (T-15)

Solo tackles: 15 (T-79)

Assists: 4 (T-79)

* ED with at least 20% of league-highest volume are ranked.

Overall grade: 60.2

Run defense grade: 63.4

Pass rush grade: 61.2

Those are some impressive numbers.

Next Gen Stats had this interesting tidbit regarding forced turnovers from pressure:

One of the concerns here could be that Dupree tore his ACL back in December. But ACL injuries aren’t the career ruiners they used to be, and Dupree has already been moving well on film:

Dupree’s arsenal of pass rush moves is quite impressive:

If you complained about the pass rush last season, and you probably did, you should be excited about this addition.