Nobody needed this. On Monday, Bleacher Report gave NFL fans a swift sucker punch reminding every team of the worst trade they made over the past decade of football. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, there was no contest: it was the painful decision to trade up in the draft for Devin Bush.
At the time, the Steelers were praised for this move. The 2019 NFL Draft wasn't exactly overflowing with talent, and Pittsburgh had a massive need at the linebacker position. However, the philosophy was all wrong, and the trade worked out about as poorly as anyone could have envisioned.
Kristopher Knox of B/R reminded fans of the lofty draft capital the Steelers were forced to part with in the move to land Devin Bush. Going from pick 20 to pick 10 in the 2019 cost Pittsburgh a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a future third-round pick. This would have been a remarkably steep price to acquire even one of the best off-ball linebackers in the league.
But Bush proved to be nothing close to this during his time in Pittsburgh.
Despite giving up an arm and a leg for the 5'11'' linebacker out of Michigan, the Steelers got underwhelming play. Following a season-ending knee injury early in his career, Bush lost any sort of aggressiveness he once possessed, and the traits that made him impressive in college for the Wolverines—his speed, burst, and sideline ability—were rarely on display during his time in Pittsburgh.
This despicable trade set the Steelers back, and years later, this should still be used as the perfect example of what a front office should never do.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must learn from one of Kevin Colbert's greatest mistakes as GM
Former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert had a legendary career that included drafting Hall of Famers like Alan Faneca and Troy Polamalu, as well as players who will soon have a bust in the Canton Pro Football Hall of Fame, like Ben Roethlisberger and T.J. Watt. However, the decision to trade up for Devin Bush in 2019 should be used as an example of what a front office should never do.
In the final years of his career as GM, Colbert was ultra-focused on filling roster holes instead of taking the best players in the draft. Instead of moving up for Brian Burns or standing pat at pick 20 and taking the best player available approach and selecting a player like Montez Sweat, Colbert got tunnel vision for an off-ball linebacker.
With just two notable names at the top of the list—LSU's Devin White and Michigan's Devin Bush—Colbert pigeonholed himself into getting one of these two linebackers. When White went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 5th overall pick, Colbert acted fast to move up in the draft.
Unfortunately, the cost was great. The capital the Steelers used to move up for Bush is typically what you'd expect from a quarterback-needy team looking to trade up to grab a quarterback. Off-ball linebacker is not a 'Money Five' position, and this short-sighted effort to fill an area of need blew up in Colbert's face.
Theoretically, the Steelers could have selected players with the 20th and 52nd overall picks in 2019 who could still be on their roster today. Instead, those picks—plus a 2020 third-rounder—were shipped away to land a linebacker who proved to be borderline unplayable.
The Pittsburgh Steelers better think twice before offering up a draft-day trade of this magnitude. This decision still makes fans sick when we think about it. Let's hope Omar Khan learns from one of Kevin Colbert's all-time biggest mistakes and avoids a dreaded decision like this in the future.
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