Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-Round 2019 NFL mock draft nets potential starters

Round 1, Pick 20: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

In 2018, the Steelers went 9-6-1 and just missed the playoffs. Despite failing to win the AFC North, they were still very potent on offense as they averaged 26.8 points per game according to NFL.com. That was good enough for sixth-best in the league. However, on defense, they were 17th with 22.5 points given up per contest.

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It’s hard to really pinpoint where the issue is as they were top-10 in total yards, passing yardage, and rushing yards surrendered. They weren’t be run over, but they just couldn’t stop teams from scoring as well as their other numbers suggest they should have been.

In an effort to help make plays on defense, the Steelers shore up their inside linebacker position with the selection of Devin Bush out of Michigan. Bush is the No. 2 linebacker prospect behind LSU’s Devin White — and after those two, there’s really no big-name player to watch for.

Bush will have his share of doubters due to being slightly undersized at 5-foot-11 and 235-pounds, but he never let that affect his play negatively. He’s a high-motor linebacker who ran an impressive 4.43 time in the 40-yard dash. Bush has also never shied away from contact and is an effective coverage linebacker.

Adding a player who can fly all over the field will be a huge help for Pittsburgh in their quest to regain control of the AFC North.