Devin Bush had a solid rookie season for the Steelers. Here’s why he made the cut on the Pro Football Writers all-rookie team.
It’s hard not to get excited when you watched Steelers linebacker Devin Bush during his rookie season. He’s an electrifying defender who can make plays at all levels of the field. Though the 21-year old had his inconsistencies throughout the season, Bush is proving to be a pivotal piece of the puzzle in Pittsburgh.
Bush earned a special honor un Tuesday: He was recently selected to the Pro Football Writers all-rookie team. Here’s a look at all of the players who made it this year:
The 2019 PFWA All-Rookie Team and rookie honors: pic.twitter.com/mmHVHWWQFx
— Pro Football Writers (@PFWAwriters) January 14, 2020
In a very uncharacteristic move by Kevin Colbert, the Steelers traded up to the 10th overall pick this past April to land Bush. The Michigan linebacker was the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, and the captain of his defense at just 20 years old.
Joining Bush on the all-rookie team were San Francisco linebacker Dre Greenlaw and fellow first-round pick, Devin White. Bush and White were talked about as easily the two best linebacker prospects entering the 2019 NFL Draft. Both stand to have very promising careers ahead of them.
It wasn’t hard to notice the upgrade in the middle of the field this year for the Steelers. Going from linebacker Jon Bostic last year, Bush was noticeably faster and possessed the ability to run with receivers in pass coverage. Though he did allow 5 touchdowns to be thrown on his watch, Bush made a number of splash plays. He took the ball away 6 times ( 2 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries), and recorded 9 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Diontae Johnson is another Steeler who may have also been in consideration for this list after a stellar rookie campaign, but the 2019 third-round pick did not make the cut. Just two receivers – A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin – made the all-rookie team, while Mecole Hardman and Deonte Harris made it as a return specialist. Not even DK Metcalf made the Pro Football Writers all-rookie team.
Devin Bush certainly has a lot of things he needs to work on if he wants to continue to climb up the rankings of the best linebackers in the league. With an NFL season under his belt and a full offseason of football conditioning set to take place, Bush could make a solid leap in his second NFL season.