By now, it should be no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled at the linebacker spot ever since they lost Ryan Shazier to that devastating spine injury. In the 21 games since that team-crushing loss, the Steelers' linebacking corps — which consisted of a combination of Sean Spence, L.J. Fort, Jon Bostic and Vince Williams — collectively earned just two single-game grades of 80.0 or more, while 15 of those games fell below the 65.0 mark.
Heading into the draft, the Steelers knew that the position had to be addressed, and addressed it was, not only by trading up in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to select Michigan linebacker Devin Bush but by taking a flier on Akron product Ulysees Gilbert III deep in the sixth round. And while Bush did have a very solid game in Pittsburgh's preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was Gilbert who made the biggest impact in the middle of the team's defense.
[Editor’s Note: All of PFF’s advanced stats and grades for every NFL player are made available in PFF’s ELITE subscription. Subscribe today to gain access!]
DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32
Unlimited Fantasy League Sync
Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire
WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools
Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks
PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools
NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades
Already have a subscription? Log In
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.