So ignore the name and the draft position. Fast forward to this off-season. You need an OLB.
You can have one of the following:
1. An unproven and untested pass rusher from the MAC in his 3rd season with little to no exposure to starting in the NFL.
2. A second round draft pick OLB.
3. Anthony Chickillo for $6 million dollars or whatever.
4. An undersized OLB from an FBS school.
5. A 27 year old OLB that is coming off a season where he played excellent run defense, was decent defending space, and finally appeared to put his pass rush game together and had 10 sacks.
6. One of the players from this list:
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-age...de-linebacker/
As much as I might not like it, #5 is the "best" option for ensuring a floor of acceptable play at my vacant OLB position. Unless I wanted to try and pry Clowney out of Seattle or bet that Shaq Barrett finally "broke out" and it is more "real" than the other same age player that also "broke out" -- what else does a team do?
Maybe swallow hard and bet that you pull a gem in the 3rd or 4th round of the draft? Like catch a prospect that is falling similar to how Lawson did a few years ago and cobble together a rotation on the other side of Watt? I am hesitant to do that, because I saw GB waste years of Matthews' prime by running out failed prospect after failed prospect on the other side.
I don't really want to pay Dupree a ton of money. Especially if it means losing out on Hargrave, Foster, Finney, and any potential improvements at other positions from the outside. But if I consider that pass rush from the OLBs is the entire point of this defense...it is hard to envision it getting better with the other options I can come up with.
I dunno. Maybe Dupree likes playing here enough that he takes like $10 million and calls it a day. Doubt it.