The Pittsburgh Steelers made a bit of an uncharacteristic move when they traded up to grab linebacker Devin Bush with the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, but their General Manager, Kevin Colbert, explained this morning why the move was well worth it.
“We thought that highly of him,” he explained, per Steelers.com. “I don’t want to say it was an easy trade to make, but it was easy in our minds to take him with the 10th pick — we did what we had to do.
“This is a unique football player, and it was [agreed upon] across the board in our evaluations. We had four personnel people (myself included), and three coaches — Coach (Mike) Tomlin being one of them — and everybody said, ‘Wow, that’s a first-round pick.’”
Tomlin echoed Colbert’s sentiment in his praise for Bush, singling out several of the characteristics that Michigan fans became so accustomed to seeing over the past three years.
“I don’t want to underscore his blitzing capabilities,” the Steelers head man began. “To me, that was as exciting as his coverage. I mean what I said, and I said he’s an exciting, all-situations linebacker.
“To have that type of athleticism in the second level of defense is critical in today’s NFL.”
Bush was named a team captain at Michigan in 2018, and Tomlin actually noted his leadership qualities as well, a trait that was on full display for pro teams during the pre-draft routine.
“We interviewed a lot of Michigan players through the draft process and it was unanimous in terms of who their unquestioned leader was,” Tomlin revealed. “That was attractive to us.
“The position he plays is like a defensive quarterback, and I think that’s something that comes very natural to him.”
The linebacker's athleticism and speed helped him enjoy an incredibly productive three-year career at Michigan, in which he racked up 194 tackles, 19.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 10 sacks in 38 games played.
He took home the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year award this past year, and was named a second-team AP All-American in 2018 and a third-teamer as a sophomore in 2017.
The Florida native was known for his blazing speed at the linebacker spot during his time at Michigan, and that was perhaps best on display at February’s NFL combine when he ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash.
“He runs all the way through the sideline,” inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky said. “He's not sideline to sideline — he runs through people.
“Bush can really close when he's going to make a tackle, and that's an added trait and is different than just speed.
“When you want to run through the guy, it’s really attractive.”
Bush’s father, Devin Bush Sr., played safety during his collegiate days at Florida State, and won a National Title with the Seminoles in 1993.
His success continued into the NFL, when he was a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1995 and a Super Bowl champion with the St. Louis Rams in 2000.
Tomlin noted that it's obvious football runs through the Bush family's genes.
“Devin is a very cerebral football guy if you spend time with him, and we spent time with him at several opportunities along the way at Indy (at the NFL Scouting Combine) and his Pro Day,” the head coach recalled. “He’s a football guy through and through.”
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