Former Steelers LB Blames Mike Tomlin for Draft Fall

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers had an impressive tandem at outside linebacker between 2017 and 2020. A pair of young first-round picks anchored the edge rush and became Pro Bowl players.

One of those players is still with the Steelers, as T.J. Watt continues to be the leader of the locker room and a superstar in Pittsburgh. The other, Bud Dupree, is still hanging around the NFL with considerably less success. But while with the Steelers, he recorded seasons of 11.0 and 8.5 sacks to. complement Watt.

Looking back on his time with the Steelers, Dupree made one startling revelation. Appearing on Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast, he shared how former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin might have sneakily helped Pittsburgh land Dupree in the 2015 NFL Draft. During the pre-draft process, Dupree claims that Tomlin gave him the advice to not run another 40-yard dash after the one he ran at the NFL Draft Combine.

"I was about to get ready to run my 40, so I'm warming up and then Coach Tomlin was like, 'Why'd you run a 40 again?' I'm like, 'Why wouldn't I run a 40? Let's try to run a 4.3,'" he explained. "And he was like, 'Nah, don't run a 40, you already ran, you ran fast already.' And looking back on it, Coach Tomlin stopped me from getting drafted higher so I could go to the Steelers. I definitely would've ran faster than I ran at the Combine and I would've been a higher pick."

Oct 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Bud Dupree (48) runs on to the field for the game against the Washington Commanders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Did Tomlin Help Steelers Land Dupree With This?

Dupree certainly has a reason to be ticked off. As every draft shows, extremely athletic players rise up the ranks and go earlier than expected. The Steelers selected Dupree with the 22nd overall pick, but if he had posted a more impressive 40-yard dash time, it's possible he would have been a top-15 pick, rather than the third edge rusher taken in that class.

Now, the question is: was Tomlin really that savvy? The 19-year coach of the Steelers certainly was known for getting the players he wanted, but are we learning a bit of how he worked, or is this a bit of coincidence? It's certainly possible that Tomlin knew that teams would stay away from him with those combine numbers, and it would work out in the Steelers' favor.

Maybe Tomlin was looking out for Dupree and viewed his 4.56 40-yard dash time as more than enough. Looking back at his NFL Draft profile from NFL.com, the book on Dupree was already well-read in 2015. He was viewed as an extremely athletic player who was viewed as an eventual starter in the NFL. It's possible a faster time wouldn't have had any impact on his draft stock.

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