Steelers trade up to 10 to take Michigan LB Bush

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Steelers moved up in the first round to select Michigan linebacker Devin Bush with the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft.

Pittsburgh initially owned the No. 20 overall pick on Thursday night but swapped first round picks with the Broncos, sending Denver a 2019 second round pick (No. 52 overall) and a 2020 third rounder.

The Steelers hope Bush is a capable replacement for Ryan Shazier, the Steelers’ 2014 first-round pick who will sit out a second straight season while recovering from spinal surgery in December 2017.

Bush, a 5-foot-11, 234-pound junior, totaled 172 tackles during a three-year career at Michigan.

A consensus All-American in 2018, Bush finished with 10 sacks, one interception, and 11 pass breakups.

He was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski and Butkus Awards in 2018. He was also a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2017 as the nation’s top linebacker.

This is Pittsburgh’s first top-10 pick since 2000, when the Steelers selected Plaxico Burress at No. 8 overall. Pittsburgh has used its first round pick on a defensive player each of the last seven years.

The last time the Steelers moved up in the first round was 2006, when they picked wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

In 2003, Pittsburgh moved the Steelers from 27th overall to No. 16 to select four-time All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu.

“Mean” Joe Greene, the Steelers’ No. 1 pick in 1969, announced Pittsburgh’s first-round selection.

The Steelers still have eight picks remaining, including two third-rounders.

Their next pick, No. 66 overall, is the third-rounder acquired for star receiver Antonio Brown — the only player in NFL history with six straight 100-catch seasons — who was traded away to the Oakland Raiders.

Browns

BERE

John Dorsey only traded text messages during the first round of this year’s NFL draft.

Cleveland’s wheeling-dealing general manager, who has overturned his roster with numerous transactions over the past year, didn’t make a move into the first round and will start the second day still holding onto his second round pick.

Dorsey’s decision not to package the No. 49 overall pick with any of his other seven selections for a higher spot was somewhat surprising, given his track record.

He’s made 17 trades — including a recent blockbuster for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. — since taking over the Browns in December 2017, bucking their laughingstock status and making them one of the league’s most intriguing squads.

Dorsey was willing to trade up for the right player, but only for the right price. However, he couldn’t find a partner on Day 1 and stayed on the sideline while six other teams moved up.

In his six previous drafts as a GM in Cleveland and Kansas City, Dorsey made 18 trades involving picks. So far, he’s only been an interested spectator.

This was the first time since 2008 that the Browns didn’t have a first-round selection, and that fact alone underscored their ascension.

The outsider’s role was a new one in Cleveland, where fans have grown accustomed to early picks, and so many bad ones.

After selecting first overall in each of the past two drafts, the Browns came in as one of four teams without a first-round pick.