Did the Steelers trade up in the first round of the draft a year too late?
By Eric Hassel
The Steelers draft a Safety instead of addressing the LB position
With the 28th pick In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Terrell Edmunds, Safety, from Virginia Tech. Edmunds finished the 2018 campaign with 1 INT (interception), 4 PD (passes defended), 1 FR (fumble recovery) and 55 solo tackles. Not quite the year Vander Esch put together. I know what you’re thinking: “You can’t compare a Safety to a Linebacker”. You’re right; however, the starting ILB’s (inside linebackers) for our team in 2018 were Jon Bostic and Vince Williams.
A free agent signing in 2018, Bostic lasted all of one season with the Steelers and was cut after Bush was drafted. That speaks volumes, doesn’t it? It does to me. What it says to me is that the ILB position was so weak last season that we didn’t even want Bostic to compete for a spot on the 53 man roster. I know what else you’re thinking: “The Steelers did not have the draft capital in 2018 to move up in the first round like they had this year”. That is true; however, I would respond with this: Darius Leonard, LB for the Indianapolis Colts, was taken eight spots after Edmunds. Leonard only was named All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year. Picking Leonard would have required no sacrifice of draft capital. Just throwing that out there.
Anyway, back to the discussion at hand. Let’s assume the Steelers had traded with the Cowboys in 2018 and had selected Vander Esch. The cost would have been our first-round pick, (number 28), a second-round pick (number 60) and a third-round pick in 2019. These picks mimic what the Steelers gave the Denver Broncos to trade up for Bush. So what would the team look today?