Steelers Had Promising LB David Long Jr. Thinking They Would Draft Him In 2019

Ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers were in desperate need of a middle linebacker. The Steelers were coming off a 9-6-1 2018 season where their best middle linebackers were Vince Williams, LJ Fort, and Jonathan Bostic. The Steelers met with a handful of linebackers that offseason, and one of them was current Miami Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. After some nice visits with the Steelers, Long had gotten his hopes up and thought that Pittsburgh would select him to fill their hole at linebacker.

Long, who is now 27 years old, came into the draft as a West Virginia product. In 2018, his last season for the Mountaineers, Long was named first-team All-Big 12 conference and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Leading the Big 12 in tackles for loss, Long had high hopes entering the draft. It was revealed in a recent article by Tyler Dunne from Go Long that Long thought Pittsburgh might take him in the draft after having a great meeting with Head Coach Mike Tomlin.

"Long expected to get drafted in the first or second round," Dunne stated. "His visit with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers was a smashing success. He dreamt of himself following the team's epic linebacker lineage, and then they selected Devin Bush tenth overall instead."

As most of us know, the Steelers decided to trade up in the first round of the draft in order to snag Devin Bush, out of Michigan. Bush of course did not pan out as a tenth overall pick. He came into the draft as the fastest linebacker with a ton of potential, but his career with the black and gold was brief due to injuries. 

Although the Steelers probably would've been better off taking Long, he did not make it out of the draft until the sixth round, when the Tennessee Titans selected him. After five seasons for both linebackers, though they are pretty close, the statistics lean towards Long. Both playing over 60 games, Long beats Bush in tackles and interceptions. Though, Bush has earned more sacks and fumbles. Long didn't begin as a starter for the Titans, like Bush did with Pittsburgh. Long has had a better trajectory and continues to improve each season, while Bush has been hopping from team to team. 

After the Steelers decided to decline Bush's fifth-year option, they let him walk in free agency and he would wind up with the Seattle Seahawks for the 2023 season. Seattle cut Bush this offseason, and now he circles back to the AFC North to play by Lake Erie for the Cleveland Browns this season. Bush and the Steelers will reunite again when the Steelers travel to Cleveland in late November for a Thursday night matchup, which will be Pittsburgh's second AFC North matchup. 

Steelers' Linebacker Group Finally Back To The Elite Level

Ever since the tragic injury of Ryan Shazier at the end of 2017, Pittsburgh hasn't had an answer at middle linebacker. Bush was supposed to fill in his shoes up to this point, but that was a disappointment. Last season, Tomlin and the crew decided to go out and get three proven, veteran linebackers to create a committee between Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, and Kwon Alexander. Though Holcomb and Alexander both suffered season ending injuries halfway through the season, the linebacker play definitely improved. 

Though the Steelers are letting Alexander roam in free agency and Holcomb is still recovering, they made a huge move by adding another star linebacker Patrick Queen. Not only that, Pittsburgh landed a steal in the draft by landing Payton Wilson. 

Between Queen, Roberts, Wilson, and possibly Holcomb, this could be the most talented and deep middle linebacker group in all of football. What do you think of the Long-Bush debate? Let us know in the comments. 

#SteelerNation