The Steelers traded up to pick number 10 to land linebacker Devin Bush. Here is what the Draft Wire had to say about his draft value.
Though the Steelers traded up in the 1st round of the NFL draft for just the third time since 2003, everyone knew who they were targeting. Devin Bush was a player that was on their radar throughout the entire NFL Draft process.
After incredible testing numbers and a pressing need at the linebacker position, many mocks had Bush being taken well before the Steelers picked at 20 overall. This led Pittsburgh to mortgaging their 2019 1st and 2nd round picks as well as a 2020 3rd round pick to move up and secure the Michigan linebacker.
Bush could end up being a fantastic player for the Steelers, but he didn’t come without a price tag. Luke Easterling of Draft Wire recently ranked every 1st round draft choice this year based on value of where they were drafted . He wasn’t overly kind to Devin Bush in his rankings.
Easterling ranked bush as the 14th best pick per value in the 1st round this year. He noted that he had the former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year ranked 12th overall on his big board prior to the draft. The fact that the Steelers mortgaged a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft choice for Bush didn’t sit very well with Easterling.
In comparison to Devin White, however, the value for Devin Bush seemed to be better. Easterling had White ranked as his 9th overall player, and thought it was a bit rich taking him with the 5th overall pick. He comes in at 16th on Draft Wire’s 1st round value rankings.
Montez Sweat was deemed the best value 1st round draft choice this year, according to Easterling, and I would concur. I recently wrote an article about how I would have taken Sweat at pick 20 this year for the Steelers.
Not everyone agrees with the decision to trade up into the top 10 for a 5’11” linebacker, but a great rookie year from Bush could put this talk to rest. We will find out soon enough what kind of value the Steelers got when they drafted Devin Bush.