What happened to the Steelers 2019 draft class?

The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner. The last few offseasons, I dove into a Steelers NFL draft classes starting with the longest-tenured draft pick and outlined each successive draft. In doing so, each player selected by the Steelers was highlighted as to how their NFL career, or lack thereof, took shape. Each year was outlined with the last three draft classes all combined into one since a large number of the players were still with the team.

Since it worked before, and since a lot of the research has already been done, let’s look back at the players from these drafts yet again each weekday leading up to the opening day of the 2025 draft. Instead of going all the way back to 2011, I decided to start in 2016 which is the first draft that still has multiple players in the NFL. But before starting, I highlighted players drafted by the Steelers in 2015 and before who were still in the NFL in 2024. For players no longer in the league, a lot of the information will be the same while others will be updated where needed.

Part 4 of 8 will highlight the Steelers 2019 NFL draft who had no players still on the roster in 2024.

So let’s take a look at the nine players drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 NFL draft:

Devin Bush

Linebacker, Michigan
Round 1
Pick 10

Trading away three draft picks in order for the Steelers to move up to the 10th spot, Devin Bush had a successful rookie campaign where he came in third in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and was a Pro Bowl alternate. But things fell apart when Bush was lost in Week 5 for the 2020 season with an ACL injury. After returning, Bush never got anywhere close to his 109 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and two interceptions he had as a rookie. After the Steelers did not pick up his fifth-year option, Bush saw his utilization fall off a cliff at the end of the season in 2022 where he only played five defensive snaps in each of the Steelers last two games. Bush signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal to join the Seattle Seahawks for 2023 where he had an even less productive season than with the Steelers. Bush signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Cleveland Browns for 2024 where he appeared in 16 games with 10 starts and had 76 tackles and 1.0 sacks. Bush signed back with the Browns for 2025 on another one-year deal, this time worth $3.25 million.

Diontae Johnson

Wide receiver, Toledo
Round 3
Pick 66

After being selected Second Team All-Pro his rookie year as a punt returner, Diontae Johnson saw an increase in targets over his first three years with the Steelers. In 2021, Johnson was selected to the Pro Bowl after he had 1,161 receiving yards on 107 receptions with eight touchdowns. Johnson signed a two-year contract extension during the 2022 offseason only to see his production drop with the departure of Ben Roethlisberger. With 882 receiving yards on 86 receptions in 2022, the biggest statistic which jumped off the page for Diontae Johnson was he did not have a touchdown. Missing four games early in the season in 2023, Johnson had his fewest receptions of his career (51) but his most yards per reception (14.1). With one year remaining on his contract and reports of another potential “hold in” situation in training camp, the Steelers traded Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Donte Jackson and a swap of late-round draft picks during the 2024 offseason. After 7 games where Johnson had 357 receiving yards on 30 receptions and 3 touchdowns, the Panthers traded Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens for a late-round pick swap. After four games with only one reception for six yards, Johns was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team for refusing to enter their Week 13 loss to the Eagles. Johnson was then released and claimed by the Houston Texans where he appeared in one game with two receptions for 12 yards before being released again at the end of the regular season. Johnson was claimed by the Ravens even though he was not eligible to play at that point of the season, but was likely done to possibly gain something in the compensatory formula if he signed somewhere else during the 2025 offseason. Johnson has yet to sign with a team for 2025.

Justin Layne

Cornerback, Michigan St
Round 3
Pick 76

After three years with the Steelers in which Layne never started a game as a cornerback, he was primarily used as a special teams player where he played 599 snaps compared to only 145 on defense. Not making the Steelers 53-man roster for 2022, Layne was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants where he appeared in seven games but only had 11 defensive snaps. Waved in November by the Giants, Layne was claimed by the Chicago Bears where he appeared in two games with no defensive snaps and only played on special teams. Released by Chicago in December, Layne was yet again claimed off waivers this time by the Carolina Panthers. Layne did not report to the team for the conclusion of the 2022 season and was released ahead of the 2023 league year. Layne did not catch on with any NFL teams since.

Benny Snell Jr.

Running back, Kentucky
Round 4
Pick 122

Appearing in every game over the last two seasons for the Steelers, Benny Snell settled into his role as the third running back and special-teams ace in 2022. In his time in Pittsburgh, Snell has seven rushing touchdowns with 982 rushing yards on 275 carries. More importantly, Snell had 24 special teams tackles with 15 of them coming over the last two seasons. With his rookie contract expired, Snell signed with the Detroit Lions for 2023. Released during roster cut-downs, Snell did not land on any team even with the practice squad for 2023 or 2024.

Zach Gentry

Tight end, Michigan
Round 5
Pick 141

As could be expected from a fifth-round draft pick, Zach Gentry only appeared in four games as a rookie and was inactive the rest of the season. Inactive for the first eight games of 2020, Gentry appeared in two games before being placed on injured reserve for the remainder of his second season. The 2021 season saw Gentry utilized much more. Only playing 69 offensive snaps those first two seasons, Gentry had 473 offensive snaps in 2021 and 577 in 2022 while starting 25 games. While the starts look impressive, it’s mainly because Gentry was utilized in the Steelers run packages and therefore was on the field for the first offensive snap of the game. In his four years, Gentry had 39 receptions for 303 yards and no touchdowns. After becoming a free agent for 2023, Gentry signed a one-year deal to return to the Steelers but did not make the 53-man roster. Signing with the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad, Gentry was picked up by the Las Vegas Raiders late in 2023 where he appeared in one game with 18 snaps and no targets. Gentry spent the preseason with the Raiders for 2024 but failed to make the 53-man roster. Gentry did not play with any team or land on a practice squad since.

Sutton Smith

Linebacker, Northern Illinois
Round 6
Pick 175

One of three sixth-round picks in 2019, Sutton Smith dealt with injury throughout training camp and never really got going as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Released as part of roster cut downs, Smith was not signed to the Steelers practice squad. Spending one week on the Jaguars practice squad in October, Smith was signed by the Steelers on their practice squad for one day in November. The following week, he was signed back to the practice squad but released six days later. Smith finished the 2019 season on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad and was signed to a Reserve/Future contract. Unfortunately, Smith was waived in late July as teams had to cut their offseason rosters from 90 players down to 80 players for the 2020 season. Smith signed with the New Orleans Saints following the 2021 draft but was released in late August. Smith caught on with the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad in mid November and was signed to the 53-man roster after being elevated several times and was under contract for 2022. Smith was released in May of 2022 and did not catch on with another team.

Isaiah Buggs

Defensive tackle, Alabama
Round 6
Pick 192

Buggs made the Steelers 53-man roster in his first three seasons in the NFL. After the injury to Tyson Alualu in Week 2 of 2021, Buggs was the starting nose tackle for the Steelers through the next eight games despite being credited with six starts due to the Steelers opening in a different defensive package. But after Week 11, Buggs fell out favor and was not active for the remainder of the season. Released prior to Week 18, Buggs landed on the practice squad of the Las Vegas Raiders. Signed by the Detroit Lions just ahead of training camp, Buggs appeared in all 17 games in 2022 with 13 starts. Buggs turned the best season of his career into a two-year, $6 million contract to stay in Detroit. Inactive early in the season, Buggs appeared in 10 games with the Lions in 2023 before he was released prior to Week 18. Buggs signed on with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad for the postseason and earned a Super Bowl ring. Buggs signed a Reserve/Future contract with the Chiefs for 2024 but was released in June when he was charged with cruelty to animals for 60 days. In April of 2025, the charged against Buggs were dismissed and he is currently a free agent.

Ulysees Gilbert III

Linebacker, Akron
Round 6
Pick 207

Sticking in Pittsburgh for three seasons as a sixth-round draft pick, Ulysees Gilbert struggled with injury throughout his time with the Steelers. Appearing in only seven games in 2019 and four games in 2020, Gilbert finally was available for an entire season in 2021 but was utilized primarily with special teams as he only played 36 defensive snaps. Injured again ahead of the 2022 season, Gilbert was waived/injured during training camp and placed on IR the next day. Just over a week later, Gilbert was waived with an injury settlement and his time with the Steelers was over. But in October 2022, Gilbert was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad where he was elevated for three games in Week 10, Week 12, and Week 13. Ahead of the Buccaneers postseason game, Gilbert was signed to the 53-man roster and played 21 postseason special teams snaps. Gilbert was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2023, but failed to make the 53-man roster and did not land on any practice squads all season.

Derwin Gray

Tackle, Maryland
Round 7
Pick 219

After spending the 2019 season on the Steelers practice squad, Gray landed back in the familiar spot in 2020. After the injuries to Zach Banner and Stefen Wisniewski, Gray was promoted to the active roster for Week 2. Going into Week 16, the Steelers were extremely thin at inside linebacker and signed Tegray Scales from the practice squad. The corresponding move was the release of Gray, who many believe the Steelers were hoping to get back to the practice squad. Unfortunately, the Jacksonville Jaguars claimed Gray off waivers. Gray signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the Jaguars for 2021 but was waived in late August. Gray was claimed of waivers by the Tennesse Titans but failed to make the 53-main roster. On and off the Titans practice squad in 2021, Gray signed a Reserve/Future contract with Tennessee for 2022 but was released in June. Gray played for the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL in 2023 and when the team merged into the UFL in 2024. In February 2025, Gray left the Stallions and signed with the BC Lions in the CFL.

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