Getty Devin Bush #10 of the Michigan Wolverines intercepts a pass during the third quarter of a game against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Devin Bush will be in Nashville tonight for the 2019 NFL Draft alongside 21 other pro prospects. The former Michigan linebacker is seen by many as a first-round prospect after 172 tackles, 18.5 TFLs and 10 sacks over 2 years starting in Ann Arbor.
However, his year ended in injury. In the second half of the blowout loss at Ohio State, he slammed to the ground when diving for a tackle. He left the game with a hurt hip, which also held him out of the Peach Bowl (a 41-15 loss to Florida).
In the postgame press conference after Ohio State, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh stated that Bush’s injury didn’t look “long term.” That proved to be the case with Bush’s excellent NFL Combine in February.
Let’s take a look at how he did in Indianapolis and what he says about his health and draft stock.
Devin Bush Hip Injury Effect on Mock Drafts & Stock
Looking at the video highlights from the linebackers at the combine, you can see how smooth Bush looks as an athlete (Bush section starts at 1:33). The numbers back up a player that is fully recovered from his ailments.
He posted a 4.43-second time in the 40-yard dash, which was tied for 2nd amongst all linebackers (just .01 second behind LSU’s Devin White). His vertical (position group-leading 40.5 inches) and broad jump (124 inches) demonstrate that his hip isn’t impeding his explosiveness.
The combine confirmed to scouts and analysts that Bush is back to being one of the best defensive athletes in this draft class. Several at CBS Sports has him going to Denver with the No. 10 pick. Matt Miller at Bleacher Report feels the same way.
With a veteran quarterback in the fold, it’s most likely the Broncos will look to bolster the defense at No. 10 overall.
Devin Bush can be head coach Vic Fangio’s Patrick Willis in Denver. He’s a rangy, tough, smart linebacker who can blitz, stuff the run and drop into coverage. The “Mike” position is incredibly valuable and important in this scheme, so filling it here is a great choice for Fangio and the Broncos.
Chris Trapasso also compares Bush to Dallas Cowboy edge linebacker Jaylon Smith. Smith needed a year to recover from a bad knee injury before recording 202 tackles and 5 sacks in the last 2 seasons.
Before his devastating knee injury in his final college game at Notre Dame, Smith was a missile on the football field. Whether it was chasing down an outside run or crashing a shallow cross, speed was Smith’s greatest attribute as a linebacker. After a long rehab process, Smith finally recaptured that speed in 2018 for the Cowboys, and it led to a breakout season. Bush is the same type of linebacker, a player predicated on speed, speed, and more speed. Neither are excellent block-shedders. Most of the time it doesn’t matter because they get to the ball-carrier before blockers can carry out their assignment. Because of their natural ability to simply run extremely fast, both Smith and Bush are assets in coverage too.
Bush has shown the production in college and confirmed his athleticism at the Combine. Don’t expect his injury at the end of the year to hold him out of the 1st round. In fact, he’s probably top-10.