The Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff has come into question entering Week 3... and for good reason. Despite a strong roster on paper and high-profile trade acquisitions, this team is falling flat. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's draft picks over recent years have shown few signs of improvement.
Now they might already be wishing they had one busted pick back.
Devin Bush saw a resurgence with the Cleveland Browns last year after signing a one-year contract in 2024. When his deal expired during the 2025 offseason, Bush elected to rejoin the Browns. All of a sudden, he's looking like the player the Steelers hoped they would get when they drafted him with the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Though the first two games of the season, Bush has put his sideline ability and coverage chops on full display. This has led the athletic linebacker to record 15 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack, and three passes defended in just his first two games.
Bush's strong early-season performance is backed by a remarkable 91.3 overall PFF grade—good for second in the NFL among 73 qualifying linebackers entering Week 3. In comparison, Bush earned a 34.4 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021 before an adequate 58.9 PFF grade in his final season in Pittsburgh in 2022.
Unfortunately, not only do the Steelers not get to reap the rewards of taking Bush in the first round, but they have to watch him play the best football of his career on an AFC North rival... and Mike Tomlin has nobody to blame but himself.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can point the finger at coaching for botching Devin Bush's development
We can argue until we're blue in the face that trading up for an off-ball linebacker in the 2019 NFL Draft was a bad decision. It cost the Steelers a first, second, and future third-round pick to move from pick No. 20 to pick No. 10 to take Devin Bush. This proved to be one of the worst draft mistakes of the Kevin Colbert era.
But just as egregious as the draft-day decision itself is the lack of coaching and development to help Bush reach his potential.
When you put on tape from Bush during his days at Michigan, you see an explosive, ferocious linebacker who can move sideline-to-sideline with ease while setting the tone for the defense. Where was that in Pittsburgh?
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During his time with the Steelers, Bush didn't play like a guy who ran a 4.43 at the NFL Combine or recorded a 40.5-inch vertical jump. He lacked aggression and looked clueless in his assignment at times. This immediately turned around when he joined the Cleveland Browns.
The worst part is that Bush turned just 27 years old this summer, and he's making it crystal clear that he still has his best football ahead of him. While it's possible Bush comes back down to earth and reverts to his old ways, the talented linebacker earned a top-10 PFF grade in 2024 and is already on track to do the same in 2025.
Devin Bush was already a draft bust nightmare the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't want to be reminded of. Now they get to play against him twice this year, and it's not hard to find blame in Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff.