Steelers Buddy Johnson
Buddy Johnson was an intriguing run-stopping linebacker with great athleticism but poor coverage skills in the past draft. The Steelers landed him with one of their fourth-round picks and he has only been active for a total of three games. Most of that is due to the extreme depth that the team has at off-ball linebacker, but with the struggles that both of the starters have gone through, now is the time to see what the rookie can do.
Devin Bush has been noted as having a down year, and while his play was slightly better against the Ravens, it wasn’t anything special. Joe Schobert has been the inverse, as his play all season has been solid if not unspectacular, but he just had one of his worst outings against the Ravens. Neither are slam dunk locks to be starting with this team in the long term.
Johnson hasn’t done much to warrant snaps so far. He has been quiet as a special team’s player, but his college tape shows a nose for the football and an aggressive downhill style as a linebacker. With this run defense struggling as much as it has, letting Johnson see some base defense snaps could help out. At the very least, the team can access what they have in him and if he can be counted on to play defense past this year. Now is the time for the team to test him out.