Art Rooney II, ever the proud papa with his expressions, was gently grinning a little extra, as if admiring a child prodigy knocking 'em dead at the piano recital.
Kevin Colbert, everyone's Western Pennsylvania uncle, lit up like he'd just grilled several kielbasa to succulent perfection.
And Mike Tomlin, obviously the head coach in all settings, had his eyes pretty much bugging out of his skull to accompany a singular, somewhat unsettling smile I've only ever witnessed from the man following a fake-punt first down.
My God, these guys were happy ...
MATT SUNDAY / DKPS... and it sure was wonderful to see.
Let's be honest: This wasn't just about Devin Bush, this introductory press conference Friday at the Rooney Complex. Not for those three glowing gentlemen in the background. Not after all these past handful of months have wrought.
The kid was awesome, don't get me wrong. Said all the right things, even when one annoying wag asked if he knew the previous two players that triumvirate had traded up to acquire:
OK, so I had to help a little with Santonio Holmes. But he nailed Troy Polamalu. And everything else. From all appearances, not least of which is being a potential playmaker at inside linebacker, he'll be hugely welcome in Pittsburgh in all ways.
But never mind that for the moment.
The Steelers needed this.
This was a W for the franchise, and it was a W, tangibly and otherwise, that was needed both inside and outside their little world.
One after the other, the punches have landed, probably beginning with the broken X-ray machine in Oakland then onward through Tomlin's very bad decision to keep Ben Roethlisberger on his sideline, through the very bad pass interference in New Orleans, through the very, very bad final scene at Heinz Field with all those athletes sadly strewn about the grass, helplessly watching themselves get eliminated from the playoffs.
Oh, and Antonio Brown. That, too.
They've had every facet of who they are questioned, doubted, even ridiculed from coast to coast. By their own fans, most often. The indisputable fact that the bulk of the accusations were unfounded or unfair had to have stripped away some of the sting, but not all of it. No chance.
It's no coincidence that Colbert, maybe the most humble executive in professional sports, uncharacteristically blurted out Thursday night after trading up for Bush that he couldn't have done so without the AB trade: “Without it, we would not have made this trade today. I’m very comfortable in saying that. Because we would not have had enough picks to do it.”
Yikes. It came off as damage-control spin, wholly unsolicited and even more unnecessary.
By Friday, though, there was no trace of defiance. Only delight. And that's as it should be.
Look, time will tell on Bush. By all accounts, there's little to not love about his future. He's blessed with sideline-to-sideline athleticism, he can drop 15 yards into coverage, he can stop the run, he can rush the passer, and his character was impeccable as a leader at Michigan. To quote Tomlin, "I'm equally fired up about his intangibles." It might not happen right away -- he might have to shove a Super Bowl starter in Mark Barron down the depth chart -- but the ceiling alone is cause for almost unbridled excitement.
What might matter just as much, at least in the moment, is that the Steelers, collectively, could hold their heads high for the first time in far too long.
They'd invested nearly two years, to hear them tell it, in getting a book on Bush. That costs energy and, yes, emotion. No matter how calculated a draft process gets painted, there's a human element. No one wants to waste wanting a prospect that badly.
As Rooney himself stated at the podium on this day, "The worst kept secret of the draft was who we might take this year. Glad we were able to do it."
It took planning. It also took patience. According to reports out of Denver, the Broncos, the original owners of that No. 10 pick, didn't take their confirming phone call from Colbert until barely a couple minutes remained on their clock:
“You guys still good? You wanna do that deal?”
Inside the War Room the moment the #BroncosDraft trade happened ? pic.twitter.com/MIZmfhNjpS
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 26, 2019
Did the Steelers also reach out to the Lions at No. 8, given their own revealed interest in trading down?
I'll bet they did. I'll also bet that Detroit sought a much higher price than Denver in ultimately hanging on to take T.J. Hockensen, the big tight end out of Iowa:
Lions had some good offers for this pick. Hockenson too valuable to pass up.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) April 26, 2019
That took persistence on the Steelers' part. Because coming up at No. 11 were the Bengals, and I'll bet everything in Andy Dalton's inflated wallet they'd have scooped up Bush if afforded the chance.
I don't care all that much about the second-round pick given up. I'd have minded much more if there weren't two picks at their disposal Friday after both Colbert and Tomlin had lauded this draft's depth in that range, but they protected that by pushing the third-round compensation to 2020. And even then, they'll get a third-rounder right back next year for having lost Le'Veon Bell.
As Colbert worded it, “Under no circumstances we would go into Friday with less than two picks. That was our criteria when myself and coach and Art sat down. Sure, we’re looking to trade up but we want to have two picks Friday because there are still good players left.”
This will hardly silence all of the Steelers' critics and cynics. Popular narratives take off like tsunamis anymore, and they aren't easily quelled. But it's a seriously inspiring start.
• Bush told me he'd already received congratulations/welcome texts from several of his new linebacker teammates, including Vince Williams, T.J. Watt and, yes, Ryan Shazier. "They put me in the linebacker chat," he acknowledged. And he sounded genuinely moved by that, particularly by hearing from Shazier.
At the same time, he's instantly identified precisely the right tack to take when asked about replacing Shazier: "Ryan Shazier is a great linebacker, and I know he's going to make a comeback. But I'm Devin Bush, not Ryan Shazier. Two different people. Two different players."
That's pitch-perfect.
• Shazier can -- and I'm sure will -- be of immense help to Bush. It was one thing for Shazier to assist and advise Williams, Jon Bostic and company, but it'll be quite another to do so with an athlete of similar pedigree and style.
• I'll doubt that Shazier can come back right after I complete my own box jump:
So, Ryan Shazier is doing box jumps now. Unreal.
? via @RyanShazier / Instagram pic.twitter.com/W1Jp6D9OpN
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPghSports) April 7, 2019
• Williams will start. Barron, who's always been better in coverage than at plugging the middle, will be the situational linebacker. Bush will be the "linebacker for all situations," as Tomlin lauded. He'll play. No delay. Just needs to stay sharp and healthy.
• I always prefer to measure incremental progress for the Steelers as it relates to the AFC North. The Bengals' consolation prize in the first round was an offensive tackle, Alabama's Jonah Williams, at No. 11. The Ravens' first-rounder was a 5-9 wide receiver, Marquise Brown, AB's cousin, despite not having a quarterback who can complete passes. The Browns didn't pick at all in the first round, though they did reasonably well to trade up to No. 46 for cover corner Greedy Williams out of LSU.
Bottom line: The Steelers got a lot better. The rest maybe got better. That's another W.
• So the Steelers never go into free agency looking to fill a need, and they never, ever, ever draft to fill a need, right?
Well, there must be some other reason, then, that they went into free agency and signed an inside linebacker, a wide receiver and a cornerback. They then went into the draft and got an inside linebacker, a wide receiver and a corner.
It's almost as if they needed those things.
• Diontae Johnson, the receiver, will be the hot topic of the higher portion of the draft. He didn't run a great 40 at the Combine, he comes from a small school at Toledo, and he was projected by most as a fourth-rounder but taken with the second pick of the third round by the Steelers.
For which I'll share three thoughts, in ascending order:
3. All 32 teams, even the Browns, collect infinitely more information on a draft class than any outside or media entity.
2. Darryl Drake, the Steelers' wide receivers coach, apparently got a beauty of a text from Bruce Arians down in Tampa:
"I got cussed out by the Tampa Bay head coach that called me some names for taking him" -- ? Darryl Drake is tremendous #Steelers pic.twitter.com/O5fIJHjIMJ
— Chase Williams WPXI (@chasepwilliams) April 27, 2019
1. What sane person doesn't trust the Steelers when picking a wide receiver?
• The choice of Michigan State corner Justin Layne, later in the third round, excites me not at all. He's nowhere near ready, he's an outside guy on a team with inside needs and, to apply the reverse thinking on what I just wrote about the Steelers assessing receivers, they're awful at this position.
But then, hey, everyone's got a voice:
The Pittsburgh Steelers just got the best cornerback in the draft. Justin Layne is an absolute steal.
— Jonah Tuls (@JonahTulsNFL) April 27, 2019
• This much is certain at receiver: James Washington had better go up and get those 'combat catches.' Because if he doesn't, unless Donte Moncrief produces at some unprecedented level, it's going to be awfully tough for Ben Roethlisberger to stretch the field. Opponents won't let JuJu Smith-Schuster sprint freely anywhere anymore, much less in a straight line down the sideline.
• A running back's got to come next, right?
Or interior offensive line?
Wait, no, tight end!
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Devin Bush press conference, Rooney Sports Complex, April 26, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS