History, it is said, favors the bold.
And the Steelers were as bold Thursday night as they've been on any NFL Draft day in quite some time, trading up in the first round for the first time in over a decade to select Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush.
To make the move, the Steelers sent their first-round pick (20), second-round selection (52) and next year's third-round pick to the Broncos for the 10th pick.
"When you make a trade up into the top 10, we were very excited to be able to make that trade and to get Devin Bush," Kevin Colbert said. "Really, we identified Devin even going back into last year when we watched him as an underclassman."
Mike Tomlin was very much part of that "we."
"Coach had a handle on him really coming into this season. We scouted him extensively. We had four different people go in during the fall, myself included. We saw him play live games, we visited with him at the Combine, we visited with him the night before his pro day, of course attended his pro day. Again, this is a quality young man who’s really an excellent football player. As an inside linebacker, his game is really predicated on what is needed to play the position in modern-day NFL football because he can not only play the run but he’s got exceptional cover abilities, and he can also rush the passer."
The cost was steep, but the Steelers felt it was necessary to go up and get a player they valued highly.
Not only was Bush productive on the field, he followed that up with an impressive performance at the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February, running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and excelling at the position drills. At the Michigan pro day, the Steelers had dinner with Bush and a number of other players. But it was Steelers inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky working him out on that day that showed everyone how much the Steelers liked Bush.
They didn't try to hide their affection for the linebacker.
"There are no secrets when it comes to that," Colbert conceded.
Bush was not only a two-year starter at Michigan and three-year contributor, he was a team captain as a junior last season and an Academic All-Big Ten pick.
"He’s an all-situations linebacker," Tomlin said. "Really all three-down type of a guy versus the run, versus the pass, being in coverage, or in pressures. And those are just the tangible things. We are equally as fired up about his intangibles. He comes from a football family. He’s a football guy. Everyone speaks very highly of him, not only as a player but as a person. His leadership skills are unquestioned. We interviewed a lot of Michigan players through the draft process and it was unanimous in terms of who their unquestioned leader was, and that was attractive to us, as well. The position that he plays is like a defensive quarterback."
Bush, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was rated as the second-best inside linebacker on many draft boards. The top inside linebacker, Devin White, went with the fifth pick to the Buccaneers.
Once that happened, the Steelers felt they had to make their move to acquire a player they coveted and had ranked in their top-10 players available in this draft.
"Devin was very high on our board," Colbert said. "And as we said the other day when we did the pre-draft conference, if a player is high on your board and he gets within reach, then you make the necessary moves to go up and get him. Fortunately, we found a trade partner in Denver. But really it was where Devin was on our board. We thought that highly of him."
Bush couldn't have sounded happier.
"I’m a guy that loves to win and just put me in the team nucleus," Bush said. "Being able to put a guy that loves to win, you know that’s how effective he’s going to be. Have a winning attitude, go to practice to win, so that’s what they’re looking for."
Bush, 5 feet 11, 234 pounds, recorded 66 tackles, 4.5 sacks and broke up four passes last season as a true junior. In the past two seasons, he had 10 combined sacks, an interception, and broke up 11 passes.
The Steelers had a need at inside linebacker the past two years after Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal injury Dec. 4, 2017 at Cincinnati.
"I think Ryan Shazier was a great player, still is, and I hope to see him soon," Bush said. "I wish all the best to Ryan Shazier with his recovery, and I know he’s going to do well. I know he has the heart to and has the will to – he will be back. I’m just ready to be Devin Bush. I’m not trying to compare myself to Ryan Shazier or anybody else. I’m going to come in and be Devin Bush."
The team attempted to trade up in last year's draft to acquire an inside linebacker but were shut out on a first-round group that included four players at the position. Instead, they started free agency signing Jon Bostic at the position. But Bostic fell out of favor late in the season and started less.
This year, they made sure that didn't happen again. So, despite adding Mark Barron in free agency, the Steelers added more to the position.
"Mark Barron was a starting linebacker on a Super Bowl team last year," Colbert said. "We think he can be a good player for us. But we had an opportunity to add another dynamic player to the position."
It marked the first time the Steelers have traded up in the first round of the draft since taking Santonio Holmes in 2006. The Steelers moved up from 32 to 25 that year to select Holmes. He also is the highest they have picked a defensive player since they selected Rod Woodson 10th in the 1987 draft. It's also the highest the Steelers have picked any player since Tomlin became head coach in 2007.
Bush will arrive in Pittsburgh to meet with the media Friday. Saturday, he'll be at Heinz Field for the team's fan meet-and-greet along with the team's other picks from Day 2 of this draft. But there's little doubt Bush will be the player everyone wants to see, despite the cost to acquire him.
"When we’re not (pick) 32, any pick is too high," Colbert said. "It is what it is. We felt that where we had Devin rated, we didn’t feel guilty trading up to get him. He wasn’t the 15th player on our board by any means. This is a unique football player and it was across the board in our evaluations. We had four personnel people, myself included. We had three coaches, Coach Tomlin included and everybody said, 'Wow, that’s a first round pick.' "
DALE'S VIEW
The picks the Steelers acquired for Antonio Brown and the one they feel they will get next year for Le'Veon Bell in compensatory selections made this possible. They now won't have another pick until the second selection of the third round, pick No. 66, which was acquired for Brown, along with a fifth-round selection.
Does that make people feel better about the Brown trade?
Perhaps.
As for remaining needs, the Steelers still need a receiver and cornerback, and both of those positions were lightly picked over in the opening round of the draft. So, there should be plenty of good players available.
Bush was a top-10 player on my board -- and pretty much that of everyone else. It was a bold move by Colbert and Tomlin, one many fans didn't think they would make. It was one I was on record as saying I wouldn't have made. We'll see how it works out.
Thus far, the Broncos got Iowa tight end Noah Fant with the pick acquired from the Steelers. We'll see who pick No. 52 is.
BEST REMAINING PLAYERS
The corners and receivers didn't go high -- as expected -- but nobody expected just one corner to be taken in the first round. And everyone's Combine darling, DK Metcalf, went unpicked.
The run on both of those positions will be heavy in the second and third rounds.
Here are the 25 best remaining guys, as I have them ranked:
- Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
- Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma
- Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
- D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi
- Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple
- Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
- A.J. Brown, WR, Mississippi
- Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
- Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M
- Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State
- Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
- Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S, Florida
- Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State
- Irv Smith, TE, Alabama
- Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
- Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
- Chase Winovich, OLB, Michigan
- Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame
- Eglton Jenkins, C, Mississippi
- David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State
- Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State
- Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
- J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
- Mack Wilson, ILB, Alabama
- Greg Little, OT, Mississippi
In terms of possible Steelers picks on Day 2:
- Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
- A.J. Brown, WR, Mississippi
- Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
- Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State
- Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S, Florida
- Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
- Chase Winovich, OLB, Michigan
- Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame
- Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State
- Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
- J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
- Andy Isabella, WR, UMass
- Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky
- Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware
- Christian Miller, OLB, Alabama
- Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State
- Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
- Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama
- Sean Bunting, CB, Central Michigan
- David Long, CB, Michigan
- Dionte Johnson, WR, Toledo
- Myles Boykin, WR, Notre Dame
- Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois
- Kendall Sheffield, CB, Ohio State
- Sheldrick Redwine, S, Miami (Fla.)
