The Top 10 Steeler Draft Busts (2000-2009)

2. Limas Sweed

Many of you may be clamoring for Sweed to top this list, and trust me, it took me a while to convince myself otherwise.  But that being said, Limas absolutely belongs in the Top Two of this countdown.  In The 2008 N.F.L. Draft the Steelers selected a player that had a 1st Round grade in the form of a 6’4″ WR named Limas Sweed from Texas.  Sweed dominated The Big XII with his size, speed, and hands, and even helped Texas win a National Championship in 2005.  Sweed was seen by almost all of Steeler Nation (myself included) to be the answer to the “Tall Receiver Problem” that Ben had pined for since Plaxico left.  In addition, Sweed was viewed as the future #2 guy after San-smokio would inevitably leave town as a Free Agent, and later possibly the #1 if Hines had decided to retire early.  Sweed’s size, speed, and ability to separate were going to be enormous advantages in the red zone, and the Steelers would finally have all the tools on offense to become lethal.

Limas however never lived up to any of the hype, and really never played at all in his 3 seasons with the Steelers.  Sweed had crucial drops against Baltimore in the playoffs and the Cincy game in 2009, he was outplayed by younger and/or hungrier competition (Wally, Manny, A.B., now Cotchery), had a rash of physical issues,  and had mental and emotional problems too.  Sweed’s final stat line after three seasons reads a pathetic 7 catches for 69 yards with no TD’s.  As I’ve stated before, I would have loved to have made this guy the #1 Draft Bust on this list, and there can be a valid argument made for him, but I personally feel that there is one guy that takes the cake as the biggest draft bust of the 2000’s.