For the better part of the past two years, the Steelers might have had the best edge rushing duo in the NFL in T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree.
But Dupree is now gone, having signed with the Titans in free agency, leaving Watt to work with second-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, a third-round draft pick in 2020.
The Steelers got an extended look at Highsmith at the end of last season, as Dupree suffered a torn ACL in a Week 11 win over the Ravens and missed the remainder of the season. Over his final five games, Highsmith recorded 28 tackles, one sack, five quarterback hits and two tackles for a loss.
It wasn't Dupree-like production, but the Steelers expect him to make a leap forward in his second year. That would be good news for Watt, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year runner-up who draws constant double teams without someone on the other edge to create pressure.
So, the Steelers feel pretty good about their starters. But, much as they were a year ago when an untested Highsmith was the top backup, the Steelers don't have a lot of proven depth behind the starters.
Longtime backup Ola Adeniyi also signed with the Titans, leaving veteran Cassius Marsh, who was signed off the practice squad of the Colts after Dupree was injured, as the top backup. Marsh, who appeared in just one game for the Steelers and saw 11 defensive snaps, has 14 career sacks in seven NFL seasons.
That will leave the Steelers perhaps looking in the draft to add another young edge rusher to the mix. And this year, it's probably a good thing the Steelers won't be looking for an edge player early.
The Miami duo of Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau along with Michigan's Kwity Paye are considered the top three prospects, but all project better as 4-3 defensive ends than they do as 3-4 outside linebackers.
Therein lies the problem with the league's move simply to call anyone who lines up on the end of the line an edge player. At 6-4, 252 pounds, Watt, for example, doesn't look anything like Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who is listed at 6-4, 271 pounds or Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa (6-5, 280).
And the Steelers do ask their edge players to drop into coverage on occasion. It might not be as much as in the past, but Watt did have 64 plays last season when he dropped 64 times, which was tied for 18th-most in the league among edge rushers. Dupree and Highsmith combined to drop into coverage 64 times, as well. Garrett dropped into coverage 23 times.
So, the Steelers still value having players on the edge who can handle backpedaling into space. Considering the team plays roughly 1,000 defensive snaps per season, at least one of their outside linebackers drop into coverage about 10 percent of the time.
Georgia's Azeez Ojulari, Penn State's Jayson Oweh and Oklahoma's Ronnie Perkins would project better as outside linebackers -- though Rousseau could have the athleticism to do it.
"Ojulari would provide some juice off the edge if the team is still looking for help at the position when the draft gets underway," NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.
Ojulari had the best production in 2020 of those three players. He had 9.5 sacks last season, while Perkins had three and Oweh surprisingly had none despite an excellent pro day.
"He is more disruptive than productive on 2020 tape," Jeremiah said. "As a pass rusher, he explodes out of his four-point stance and flashes an effective chop/rip and an occasional up/under move. However, there are too many snaps where he doesn’t have much of a plan. He does have the ability to bend at the top of his rush and collected a lot of QB hits on the tape I watched. He didn’t have any sacks to show for it in 2020, though. He plays too high against the run, but he uses his length to press out tackles and set the edge. He will get washed by down blocks when aligned inside. Overall, Oweh is an intriguing talent with his best football ahead of him."
But to get one of those players, the Steelers would likely have to take them in the first two rounds of the draft, which is unlikely.
Beyond that group, there are a number of outside linebacker types that could interest the Steelers in later rounds, led by Joseph Ossai of Texas, Washington's Joe Tryon or Pitt's Patrick Jones later on Day 2, or Day 3 productive edge rushers such as Patrick Johnson of Tulane, Penn State's Shaka Toney, Malcolm Koonce of Buffalo or Chris Rumpf of Duke.
Lolley's Edge Rankings
1. Jaelan Phillips, Miami
2. Kwity Paye, Michigan
3. Gregory Rousseau, Miami
4. Azeez Ojulari, Georgia
5. Jayson Oweh, Penn State
6. Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma
7. Carlos Basham, Wake Forest
8. Joseph Ossai, Texas
9. Joe Tryon, Washington
10. Payton Turner, Houston
ALSO SEE
• Lolley's Wide Receiver Rankings
• Lolley's Quarterback Rankings
