AIf there was one thing that happened in the NFL in this offseason, it was this: The cost of business with edge rushers hit an all-time high.
Actually, it started just before the beginning of the 2018 season when the Raiders sent Khalil Mack to the Bears for two first-round, a third- and sixth-round draft picks and promptly signed him to a six-year, $141-million contract.
That was a number previously paid only to quarterbacks. And it extended into free agency this year, as a number of edge rushers or outside linebackers signed monster deals with new teams.
Za'Darius Smith got $16.5 million per year from the Packers. Thirty-year-old Justin Houston got $12 million per season from the Colts after being released by the Chiefs. Trey Flowers got $90 million over five seasons to leave the Patriots for the Lions.
You get the idea.
Just like that, the $9.2 million the Steelers guaranteed Bud Dupree as his fifth-year option is tied for the 32nd-highest cap hit in the league among edge rushers for 2019.
And since it's just a one-year deal, the Steelers have a need to add additional talent at outside linebacker. T.J. Watt is an emerging star, having earned his first Pro Bowl trip in 2018, while Anthony Chickillo was re-signed in free agency to a two-year, $8-million contract.
The Steelers also have 2018 undrafted rookie free agent Ola Adeniyi and practice squad players Keion Adams and Farrington Huguenin, but there's precious little NFL experience among that group.
Adding another body to that group -- particularly a talented one given Dupree's contract status -- could be something that interests the Steelers a lot in the draft, which begins April 25.
This is a great year for edge rushers, with several expected to go in the first round.
Ohio State's Nick Bosa will be a top-5 pick, but doesn't fit into the Steelers' defensive front -- not that they have a shot at him anyway.
But Kentucky's Josh Allen, Montez Sweat of Mississippi State and Brian Burns of Florida State would all fit nicely as outside linebackers in a 3-4 defense.
Allen is expected to be a top-5 pick, Sweat, who ran a blistering 4.41-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine at 260 pounds, could go as high as the top 10, while Burns could go somewhere in the teens or slip to the early 20s.
If that happens, the Steelers could be tempted to select the 6-foot-5, 249-pound sack specialist. Burns ran a 4,53 40 at the Combine, showing the speed he displayed while recording 23 sacks, seven forced fumbles and 38.5 tackles for a loss in just 33 career games for the Seminoles.
Burns played at around 230 pounds at Florida State, but put on 21 pounds for the Combine, though it didn't affect his speed. Many of his sacks came on a very good inside spin move he displayed when opponents overplayed his speed.
"I feel like if I’m pushing the guy up the field a lot in the game, he’ll be vulnerable to the inside spin or inside counter," Burns said. "Most guys are afraid of my speed, and they start to kick, and they start to really, really ... they get vertical, I’ll put it that way. I feel like once they turn their shoulders, it’s over.”
He's also holding the weight he added since Florida State's season ended.
"I feel comfortable," Burns said. "But there’s no telling what the future has in store. I feel like I can put on more weight, I feel like I have room for it.
"I put it on because I want to enhance my game to a new level. I want to work on speed to power. I want to work on certain things and, with that, I need the weight for it. I feel like as long as I can keep that weight on and move the same way I always move, I’ll be fine."
Georgia's D'andre Walker, Michigan's Chase Winovich and Alabama's Christian Miller all should hear their names called before the end of the second round and could sneak into the first round.
Winovich, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in suburban Pittsburgh, surprised many at the Combine by running a 4.59 40 at 256 pounds. He's a high-motor edge defender who was a team leader at Michigan.
"That would be great," Winovich said of the possibility of being selected by the Steelers. "That would be really special. I know my parents are pulling for it. I’ll just stay at home. My mom will make me breakfast every morning."
The problem with the edge rushers in this draft is that while the top eight to 10 are as good a group as in any draft, after that, the talent tails off.
One mid-round player who the Steelers have shown an interest in is Texas Christian’s Ben Banogu.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Banogu ran a 4.62 40 at the Combine and displayed a 40-inch vertical jump. Banogu is not just a track athlete. He led TCU with 8.5 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss last season.
Another mid-round prospect the Steelers have shown interest in is Oklahoma State's Jordan Brailford. Brailford had nine sacks and 16 tackles for a loss in 2018, then ran a 4.65 40 at the Combine at 252 pounds.
Brailford feels discipline he learned from his grandfather, a veteran of the Army, served him well, along with a mother who raised a family while attaining her Master's degree.
"A lot of things like that just shaped me to be the man I am today," Brailford said. "He’s a military man. He helped teach me discipline. He was there to take me to and from school. Those two really helped me out, my mom and my granddad."
LOLLEY'S VIEW
With Dupree on the final year of his contract and Chickillo signed for just two seasons, the Steelers have an obvious need here.
They like Adeniyi's upside as a pass rusher, but if the opportunity to grab a premium pass rusher arises, they might not pass on it. You never know what's going to be available or where you're going to be picking next year. And as this year's market showed, signing one in free agency is expensive.
