Most Pittsburgh Steeler fans seem pleased, even ecstatic, over the team's selection of Devin Bush in last month's NFL Draft.

Personally, I find it difficult to get that excited over a player who has never played a down in the NFL. Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for him, but I'll reserve calling him great until he proves it on the field.

The Steelers did not just select the University of Michigan product and inside linebacker with their first-round pick, they traded up to get him, something they rarely do.

Since Mike Tomlin has been head coach and Kevin Colbert general manager of the Steelers, the team has taken a linebacker in the first round five other times — T.J. Watt (2017), Bud Dupree (2015), Ryan Shazier (2014), Jarvis Jones (2013) and Lawrence Timmons (2007).

I think Watt, Shazier and Timmons each justified the Steelers taking them high. Shazier would still be running around making plays if not for the injury to his spine two years ago.

Dupree is still trying to live up to the hype and Jones was a complete bust, so there are several directions a first-rounder can go.

Of course, the gold standard for Steelers linebackers remains Jack Ham and Jack Lambert.

Drafted in the second round in 1971 and 1974, respectively, the two Hall of Famers played integral roles in Pittsburgh winning four Super Bowls in a six-year stretch.

As great as both players were, they went about their business on the field with totally different styles.

Lambert's bravado was unmistakable while making nine Pro Bowls and being named All-Pro six times. Take the episode in Super Bowl X involving him and Dallas safety Cliff Harris.

After Pittsburgh's Roy Gerela missed a field goal attempt, Harris taunted the kicker and patted him on the head. Lambert was nearby and proceeded to grab Harris and throw him to the Orange Bowl turf.

Lambert finished that game with 14 tackles and later said, “No one can be allowed to intimidate us. We're supposed to be the intimidators.”

Media outlets ate up Lambert's antics. He once claimed on a national television broadcast to be from Buzzard's Breath, Wyoming. Sports Illustrated ran an issue with Lambert on the cover. Missing most of his teeth, he looked like the kind of guy who would knock his own mother to the turf if it meant saving the Steelers a few yards.

Ham, on the other hand, was a cerebral player. The most intimidating thing about him was his fervent attention to detail, seemingly always in the right place at the right time.

Considered by many experts as one of the best pass coverage linebackers of all time, Ham finished his career with 32 interceptions and made eight Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro six times.

As for Bush, he doesn't need to end up in the Hall of Fame. But for a first-round pick, being the keystone to Pittsburgh's defense for a decade is a reasonable expectation.

No pressure, Devin. No pressure.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle