Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Devin Bush has been a polarizing figure in the eyes of Steeler Nation. Bush was the Steelers top draft pick in 2019, and the Steelers made a rare trade of a first round pick to move up 10 places and select him 10th overall. As the defense had a large hole left in the wake of the devastating career-ending injury to Ryan Shazier, it's clear that the Bush acquisition was made in order to find a blue chip LB they sorely needed.
It’s safe to say that Bush has been a mixed bag thus far into his career, enough so that the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option, which would have paid him $10.8 million in 2023 and he will be eligible for free agency after the season. Bush suffered through an ACL tear just five games into the 2020 season and struggled to regain the impressive form that saw him finish third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, something the Steelers factored into their decision.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Devin Bush (left) and team president, Art Rooney II (right). (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Bush had a disappointing 2021 season, starting in all 14 games that he played in, finishing with only 70 tackles, 2 TFL and 2 sacks while playing only 79% of snaps. Bush’s detractors were quick to point the finger at the LB as the Steelers had the worst rushing defense in the NFL. Among his critics were former Steelers running back and NFL analyst, Merrill Hoge, who gave a brutal appraisal on 93.7 The Fan:
“He doesn’t play with great instincts. I don’t care if he’s a first rounder. I don’t care if he’s fast. He’s not a very good football player. He doesn’t play smart. He doesn’t play fast. He doesn’t even play with good leverage and technique when he does. And he hurts you.”
It seemed as if he had a mental block recovering from the injury and the effect snowballed as the criticism mounted. However, head coach Mike Tomlin was not yet ready to throw the towel in on his young linebacker, as he shared per The Athletic commenting on how each individual responds differently to recovering from injury:
“I think it’s very reasonable to expect significant improvement in young players, particularly in his circumstance of being 12 months off his injury and putting that behind him. I’m just excited about him getting back out there and having a clean bill of health throughout the team development process and not being a component of team development or his individual readiness.”
While Tomlin expressed his thoughts on a Bush recovery using his trademark "Tomlinisms," new LB coach Brian Flores, who will be overseeing Bush's change from the mack inside linebacker position (the weakside ILB) to the buck spot (the strongside ILB), and was a little bit more transparent in his optimism:
“Devin is a smart kid and very talented. I’ve had a good rapport and good conversations with him thus far. I am excited to keep working. This is something you don’t talk about on the second day of veteran minicamp and just out on the field in September. It is something you build on or work toward daily.”
Comparisons to Shazier from the beginning:
From the moment he was drafted, it was clear the Steelers were looking for a ILB that had the athleticism to be a Ryan Shazier type player. Bush’s career began with a lot of eyes on him and especially after his impressive rookie season, they believed they found it. This is an almost impossibly high bar to meet so quickly, as it took several years for Shazier to develop into the All-Pro caliber level LB he became. It’s also easy to forget that after the 2014 season, there were rumblings that the Steelers missed on Shazier, given how C.J. Mosley performed for the rival Baltimore Ravens.
Ryan Shazier making the fateful tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, leading to the Steelers Devin Bush acquisition in 2019. (ESPN MNF)
Unfair expectations from trading first round picks:
During the Kevin Colbert years, the Steelers have traded their first round pick four times:
- 2002: Traded from 27th to 16th: Drafted Troy Polamalu
- 2006: Traded from 32nd to 25th: Drafted Santonio Holmes
- 2019: Traded from 20th to 10th: Drafted Devin Bush
- 2019: Traded 2020 1st round pick for 2018 11th overall pick Minkah Fitzpatrick
Polamalu is one of the Steelers genuine top ever players and a Hall of Famer. Holmes early departure from the Steelers is definitely overlooked in light of his 2008 Super Bowl MVP performance. Fitzpatrick immediately transformed the Steelers defense into an elite unit upon his arrival.
The rarity of the Steelers making a move with a first round pick to acquire a young talent has also coincided with a lot of success, all the way to the Super Bowl. With the success of other Colbert moves, fair or not, there is an expectation that the Steelers Devin Bush trade would result with a similar impact, which he has not to date.
The disappearing defensive line dominance:
Finishing last in the NFL in rushing defense for the first time since 1965 was not something that Bush was solely responsible for and thus it is ridiculous to take the majority of the blame and place it on him because of his draft status. The Steelers defensive line has been among the most dominant against the run since the 1990's. When James Farrior was leading the Steelers in tackles and reaching his potential, a lot of the credit for that was due to the grind of the big men up front like Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel doing the dirty work that freed up the LB's behind them to be the heroes.
Cam Heyward took out his frustrations with the Steelers run defense on Justin Herbert - NBC Sports
In the 2010's, the Steelers front three was just as good, if not even better, as Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, and Tyson Alualu were owning the line of scrimmage. But this position of strength quickly became one of weakness, as Hargrave was earning Pro Bowl honors with the Philadelphia Eagles after leaving via free agency, Tuitt was suddenly gone unexpectedly, and the injury to Alualu left the Steelers with a massive hole on the defensive line, which in turn, repeatedly surrendered massive holes for the opposition to run through.
Former Steelers ILB Vince Williams clearly understood the importance of playing with a great front seven, and his thoughts on Bush, as he shared recently on the The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke:
"You miss Tyson Alualu and Tuitt, I would have looked like garbage out there. They’re like, 'Vince, come on back' and I’m like, 'I’m not coming back without Tyson and Tuitt. Come on what are you talking about?'"
Williams went on to allude to why he didn’t leave the Steelers in free agency despite being projected to make more money. His agent told him he could get paid $10.5M and took the $8.5M because the front seven that he played with was "phenomenal." He knew that he was able to be more successful because he played behind one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. The job is difficult enough in making adjustments, covering 2’s and 3’s, being responsible for the motion out of the backfield as well as taking the gap on in front of them. This job is a lot easier when the defensive line is controlling and dominating the line of scrimmage the way it has historically.
The Steelers standard at LB is unique among all professional sports. The list of dominant Steelers LBs and who were the best can be debated among fans for hours. This standard is enough for guys like Lawrence Timmons to get criticized for not being more dominant, which is insane in and of itself. From 2015-2018, Bud Dupree was unfairly considered a “bust,” a narrative that Dupree busted wide open as we witnessed his potential truly become realized in his fourth season.
As another first round pick who, like Bush, endured the harsh criticism of Steelers fans only to persevere, Dupree also struggled to find his form a year after suffering through an ACL tear, finishing the 2021 season with only 3 sacks in 6 starts with the Tennessee Titans, proving even further how much an injury can have an impact on a quality player.
Bush has an opportunity to make a huge impact given that it has been two years removed from his injury, the infusion of talent on the defensive line with free agent Larry Ogunjobi at tackle, the drafting of DeMarvin Leal and the return of Alualu, as well as the signing of Myles Jack to play alongside with at ILB, and the chance to be coached by Flores.
A return to form by Bush has been presented and the rest is up to him. A lot of people have already given up on Bush, but considering the facts, has he been evaluated unfairly and do you think he will prove his critics wrong in 2022? Leave a comment below.
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