Keeping Bud Dupree on the payroll — at least for the 2020 season — is a priority for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That’s what coach Mike Tomlin emphatically said the day after the 2019 season ended. His statement was affirmed by team president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert in recent weeks.

The path to keeping Dupree on the roster for his sixth NFL season likely rests in the franchise tag the Steelers can exercise anytime between Tuesday and March 10. If the Steelers use the tag on Dupree, his salary will be locked in at approximately $16.2 million, and the two sides would have until July 15 to sign a long-term contract that could potentially reduce that salary cap figure for 2020.

In the event the Steelers have a change of heart and decide to let Dupree test free agency, they could find his replacement early in the NFL Draft — with the No. 49 overall pick or with their anticipated compensatory pick at the end of the third round. The scouting process continues this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Two NFL Draft analysts project the Steelers at least considering a pass rusher with their top pick.

Asked in a recent conference call about the Steelers needs, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. mentioned Alabama’s Terrell Lewis and Michigan’s Josh Uche as possibilities for the second-round pick.

“They’re always looking for a pass rusher,” Kiper said.

Lewis is a 6-foot-5, 254-pound redshirt junior who finished fifth in the SEC with 11 1/2 tackles for loss and ninth in the conference with six sacks. He also led Alabama with 16 quarterback pressures. Lewis, though, missed nearly two full college seasons because of injuries and sat out the Citrus Bowl to prepare for the draft.

Uche, a 6-2, 250-pound senior, led Michigan with 8 1/2 sacks and 11 1/2 tackles for loss in 2019, his only year as a starter.

“Josh Uche looks like a Steeler to me,” Kiper said.

Asked last week about the Steelers pursuing a skill player in the second round, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah steered the conversation toward defense.

“When I look at the needs for the Steelers, trying to find an edge rusher at that point in time,” Jeremiah said. “I put edge rusher, you can look offensive tight end, a couple different directions there.”

Then, Jeremiah rattled off three players who could fit the Steelers’ mold as a pass rusher in their 3-4 scheme: Florida’s Jonathan Greenard, Boise State’s Curtis Weaver and Tennessee’s Darrell Taylor.

The 6-3, 263-pound Greenard spent four seasons at Louisville before spending a final year at Florida. He finished his career with 19 sacks, 122 tackles, three interceptions and four forced fumbles.

“He stands up off the edge, he’s got a nice get-off,” Jeremiah said. “He’s really good with his hands. He’ll push and pull, do those things. Very athletic.”

Weaver, a 6-3, 265-pound redshirt junior, was voted Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and finished with 34 sacks, most in conference history. He had 13 1/2 in 2019.

“Teams are all over the place on him,” Jeremiah said, “because he doesn’t have a good, typical body type you see for an edge rusher. He carries a little bit of extra weight. He doesn’t have a great get-off, but he’s somebody with a tremendous amount of wiggle as a rusher, and he’s a finisher.”

Taylor, a 6-4, 255-pound redshirt senior, had 19 1/2 sacks in 43 career games at Tennessee. He ranked second in the SEC with 8 1/2 sacks in 2019, and he had eight sacks the previous season.

“If you watch him in 2018, he is a first-round type player, was not healthy this year,” Jeremiah said. “But really, really dynamic, explosive. He’s got a stutter bull move, he can really knock you back. Has a really high ceiling.”

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