Steelers 2-a-days: Devin Bush, Isaiah Buggs showed draft round-worthy value as rookies
Editor’snote: Leading up to a unique Pittsburgh Steelers training camp staged at Heinz Field this year, the Tribune-Review will be running through the team’s 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2020 season. The breakdown will go through the roster, in mostly alphabetical order, two per day, between June 9 and July 23, a day that was originally planned to be reporting day for players to camp. (Contract data courtesyspotrac.com)
DL ISAIAH BUGGS
Experience: Second season
Contract status: $717, 158 cap hit in 2020, signed through 2022
2020 outlook: The Steelers like to take late-round fliers on defensive tackles. They have selected one in the sixth or seventh round of six of the past eight drafts. At that portion of the draft not much can be expected, and the Steelers have gotten that sort of requisite productivity out of their defensive linemen taken in the latter rounds. Buggs showed enough promise during his rookie season that he could be among one of the better of the Steelers’ late-round picks.
Buggs made the 53-man roster after being a sixth-round pick out of Alabama. He appeared in nine games, playing 75 defensive snaps — more than any of the previous 10 Steelers defensive linemen drafted in the fourth round or later played during their rookie seasons. Buggs’ play was adequate enough he has a better-than-average chance of holding onto his roster spot in 2020. Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu and Chris Wormley will get the bulk of the defensive line playing time. But Buggs probably is at the top of a second tier that includes the likes of Dan McCullers, rookie Carlos Davis and a host of other young players on the roster with no NFL regular-season experience.
ILB DEVIN BUSH
Experience: Second season
Contract status: $4.29 million cap hit in 2020, signed through 2022 with team option for 2023
2020 outlook: Bush wasn’t an immediate superstar, but nothing he showed as a rookie last season proved he wasn’t worth the bounty of draft capital the Steelers spent to jump up to No. 10 overall to take him. Bush led the Steelers in overall and solo tackles, was fourth in tackles for loss and among his four fumble recoveries was one returned for a touchdown during an October game against the Los Angeles Chargers. His speed and playmaking ability was evident, and, along with the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade, Bush’s addition to the defense helped raise the level of play of the entire unit. It was no coincidence the Steelers led the NFL with 38 takeaways last season.
In 2020, Bush figures to play even more than the 82.3% of the defensive snaps he played as a rookie (already tops among Steelers inside linebackers). Mark Barron’s departure in free agency signals that going forward, Bush could be an every-down, every-situation player — clearly what the Steelers envisioned when they targeted him in the draft 14 months ago.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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