Miami Dolphins LB David Long Jr. has morphed into a talented off-ball linebacker, setting a career-high with 113 tackles during his first season with the Miami Dolphins in 2023. Prior to that, Long spent four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, accumulating 15 tackles for a loss, 14 pass deflections and 230 total tackles. But ahead of the 2019 draft, Long thought he might wind up in Pittsburgh.
In a feature story in Go Long, Ty Dunne writes that Long thought he could wind up in Pittsburgh after his pre-draft meeting with Mike Tomlin was a “smashing success.”
“…Long expected to get drafted in the first or second round. His visit with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers was a smashing success. He dreamt of himself following the team’s epic linebacker lineage, and then they selected Devin Bush 10th overall instead,” Dunne wrote.
Long didn’t end up getting drafted until the sixth round, at No., 188 overall by the Titans. He was a steal of a selection, blossoming into a regular starter for Tennessee by his third season while also making 54 tackles in 14 games and five starts in his second season.
As we all know, Bush did not work out for Pittsburgh. After what seemed like a promising rookie season, Bush tore his ACL during his second year and was never the same player. He left Pittsburgh after four seasons, spending 2023 with the Seattle Seahawks before signing with the Cleveland Browns, where he’ll now play Pittsburgh twice a season.
Obviously, Long was never going to go to Pittsburgh in the first round, as he came in small, at 5112 and 217 pounds at his Pro Day, and he also ran just a 4.81 40-yard dash. Still, he was immensely productive during his college career at West Virginia and the Steelers clearly had interest in him, with Tomlin meeting with him pre-draft.
But once Pittsburgh took Bush, they didn’t address the inside linebacker position again until after Long was taken, when they took Ulysses Gilbert III. The 2019 Draft has now turned out to be one of the worst in recent memory, with no player remaining on the roster after the trade of Diontae Johnson. Long would’ve been a good pick for Pittsburgh, and the Steelers could’ve made up for not picking him by adding him as a free agent last season, but Pittsburgh went a different route and Long ended up in Miami.
If Long continues his upward trajectory, not taking him in 2019 may be a decision the team could come to regret, but Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker corps is now the best it’s been in a while with Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, Payton Wilson and Cole Holcomb all in the fold, so the Steelers wound up alright.
