Building around Devin Bush as the Steelers' primary playmaking linebacker is of prime importance to the organization's future as it builds around a young core of defensive stars. As the tenth overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, he's the highest selected player by the Steelers since Kevin Colbert's first NFL Draft as general manager when they selected Plaxico Burress eighth overall in 2000.
I broke down why finding him a partner was a priority in a March edition of Carter's Classroom, and the Steelers waited until the fourth round to draft that partner in Buddy Johnson. They didn't get a linebacker with superstar capabilities like Micah Parsons, but Johnson has the skillset to pair with Bush in a way that could work in a way that maximizes both of their potentials.
Johnson led Texas A&M's defense with 86 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. He was their Mike linebacker that attacked offenses as the Aggies' primary playmaker in the middle of their defense.
With 4.57 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 128-inch broad jump, 4.03 seconds in the short shuttle, Johnson displayed among the best speed, explosiveness and agility of 2021's linebacker draft class. And at 6-foot-1, 229 lbs., he combines that with ideal size to play as a physical linebacker in the NFL.
Plenty of times, Johnson diagnosed run plays and knifed his way through offensive lines to make plays at the point of attack. That's the best part of his game, as you can see him force a fumble late against Florida in this 2020 game.
Watch how Johnson quickly diagnosed the play, then was able to burst laterally past a linemen who tried to block him as he maintained his focus on the running back before finishing the play with a hard hit:
He even wrapped his arms around the ball and forced the fumble.
But the Steelers already have a fast linebacker in Bush who attacks the run, and he'll be a focus of the defense for years to come. They need Johnson to be able to share in that ability, but also be the player who takes on offensive lines and free up Bush to maximize his playmaking ability.
In the Steelers' traditional 3-4 style of defense they've usually deployed two off-ball linebackers in roles designated Mack and Buck. The Mack linebacker is the primarily playmaker who helps the most against the pass and is worked within the defense to be free from blocking linemen. The Buck linebacker plays a more engaging role in front of the Mack linebacker to take on blockers and be more aggressive against the run.
The latter's role involves a lot more downhill style of play and a linebacker who is more used to engaging and disengaging blockers to make plays against the run. Watch how Johnson dealt with an attempted block out in space. Even as he read the pulling guard to diagnose the jet sweep outside, he kept his head on a swivel to see the block, keep himself free and make the tackle at the point of attack:
This is where Johnson can make a big difference for the Steelers' defense.
"One of the first things I want to see is when you attack the line of scrimmage," linebackers coach Jerry Olsavasky said the day Johnson was drafted by the Steelers. "We call that going down hill, and Buddy does that really well. You can tell he's been around football for a long time. He feels comfortable moving with the run and attacking blockers. Blockers are more proficient in the NFL, but that just takes technique. The fact he attacks is very good. You can't teach that."
Playing downhill as a linebacker paired with Bush might also help Johnson avoid some of his pitfalls in college. The Mike linebacker has a lot more responsibilities and importance to a defense than a Buck linebacker as the former is the primary tackling playmaker who has to account for more on the defense while the Buck linebacker pairs with the Mack.
Sometimes Johnson would get caught up thinking too much at Texas A&M, like when he got caught up in traffic on this run by South Carolina. You can see his No. 1 jersey take a few hesitation steps and get walled off from the play, and that's when the run broke out for a big gain:
But again, putting him in a different role for the Steelers could help limit those kind of mistakes as Johnson grows into the NFL.
Olsavsky wasn't exaggerating about how comfortable Johnson looked when he was locked in. When he figured out what an offense was doing, the result was always a locked in defender who played physical but wouldn't get too aggressive and give up his role in a given defense.
Watch how patient Johnson was in diagnosing this quarterback option by Sam Howell. You can see him read and react to the fake handoff without taking false steps before he accelerated around the tight end that cam down the line to be the lead blocker for Howell. Not only did he diagnose the play, but once he did he quickly accelerated ahead of the tight end to be right where Howell was headed and make the tackle in space:
That's the kind of instincts you want Johnson to bring.
But he'll still need to hone those instincts to an NFL level. Thanks to the Steelers' bringing back Vince Williams, he'll have a good mentor on that. Williams made his living as a sixth round pick without the more impressive athletic numbers Johnson boasts. But for years, Williams was that Back style linebacker for the Steelers and was more than serviceable in that role alongside linebackers like Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier, and eventually Devin Bush.
For years, Williams has been the most revered hitting linebacker when Mike Tomlin has his players run the backs on backers drill in training camp. That showed up on Sundays when he would be tasked with blitzing and blowing up running backs in the hole with his physical style of play. If he can help Johnson adjust to that role faster, it could go a long way to completing his path to being that ideal complement to Bush.
But Johnson's athleticism suggests he could also be of more use in coverage than Williams was over the years. The thing is, he just wasn't asked to do it a ton for the Aggies, so he looks a lot more raw on tape there. You can tell he knows his assignment and is willing to do the hard work to run with quicker playmakers, but you can also see where he looks uncomfortable in his effort.
But here's a play where he did look the part of a comfortable coverage linebacker running with LSU's Eric Gilbert on an out route. Johnson's responsibility is to maintain inside leverage and quickly close on Gilbert if the pass is made while his man is breaking away.
Even though Johnson's helped with a pass behind its target, you can see how he was ready to make a play on the ball the entire way, watching Gilbert through the entire rep. Sometimes untrained linebackers in coverage will get caught up looking at the quarterbacks eyes or if they're keeping their eyes on their man, not anticipating when the ball arrives.
Johnson maintained his proper focus and managed to fight through the hands of Gilbert, making all the proper reads:
If nothing else, that's an athletic and wiling linebacker who can better work on those skills as the Steelers begin OTAs.
Bush and Johnson have the makings to be a young linebacker pair that mold their play around each other as athletic and physical playmakers. As the rest of the AFC North builds their offenses with strong running games with players like Lamar Jackson, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Joe Mixon, having run-stuffing linebackers who can also help in coverage will be an essential part of the plan to stop those offenses.
Let's see how Johnson takes on the next step in his process to becoming that player for the Steelers.