Steelers Get Called Out By Ex-Player For Being Impatient With Former First-Round Pick

The Pittsburgh Steelers thought they had hit the lottery whenever they were able to pull off a trade with the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Steelers sent three picks: 2019 first-round pick (No. 20 overall), 2019 second-round pick (No. 52 overall), and a 2020 third-round pick (No. 83 overall) to the Broncos in order to move up from 20th overall to 10th overall to select speedy linebacker Devin Bush.

Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was thrilled to have landed what he referred to as an all-situations linebacker. Tomlin was drawn to Bush because he liked his ability to be on the field for three downs and impact the pass rush and run defense at similar capacities. After the Steelers drafted Bush, Tomlin infamously got on the phone in the team’s war room and asked Bush one poignant question: “Are you ready to be a Steeler?” to which Bush replied, “He** yeah, coach, I am ready.” Unfortunately for the Steelers, it did not quite go as planned.

Bush’s time in the Steel City started with optimism, but a severe knee injury ultimately pushed him out of Pittsburgh. In May of 2022, the Steelers had to make a decision on Bush’s future and ultimately felt it was in their best interest to decline his fifth-year rookie contract option. Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams was teammates with Bush. Williams went on the Steelers Standard podcast to detail how he thinks Pittsburgh set him up for failure by being impatient.

"I think it just speaks to, if you go back, you guys can go back and look at a tweet I sent out," Williams said while speaking about Bush's time with the Steelers as a former first-round pick. "I said Devin Bush will be fine and he will have a resurgence because he came in the league when he was 21 years old. He was very young, he was new and he was raw. He was immature and I think if given some time, he would have grown and developed into the type of player they drafted."

Williams watched as Bush was tossed into the defensive rotation too early. He didn’t believe he was mature enough to handle the responsibility that Tomlin and the coaching staff were expecting. 

Ultimately, the Steelers seemed to agree and decided to let him walk in free agency in 2023.

"This is where I go back and say how the new age game is making people play probably before they are ready to play," Williams said. "You have a guy that comes in and he is just ready to play like a Ryan Shazier or a TJ Watt. Even Cam Heyward didn't start when we first got him or even Troy [Polamalu]. We thrust Devin into that role thinking he was going to be like TJ or he was going to be like Ryan. Those dudes were 30-year-old 20-year-olds if that makes sense. They were very mature for their age and they came in ready. I think if they would have just given him some time to develop into that, he would have been fine."

Bush’s time in Pittsburgh will likely be remembered as one of the more debated draft decisions of the Tomlin era. What began as a bold trade up the board quickly turned into a situation that never fully developed as the team had hoped.

Steelers' 2019 First-Round Pick Still Ignites Debate To This Day

Injuries, expectations, and timing all played a role in how things unfolded, but opinions remain split on whether the Steelers moved on too soon or simply made the right call based on performance. Williams’ comments add another layer to that ongoing debate.

As Bush continues his career now with the Chicago Bears, he signed a three-year, $30 million deal after a breakout 2025 campaign. His Steelers tenure serves as a reminder of how difficult it can be to project development at the NFL level, especially when young players are asked to step into major roles early.

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