Still Curtain
FanSided

30 greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s

By Tommy Jaggi

PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 31
Next
Kendall Simmons of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 7, 2006. The Steelers won 28-17. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Kendall Simmons of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 7, 2006. The Steelers won 28-17. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

30. Kendall Simmons, G (2002)

Kendall Simmons might be the most forgotten about former 1st round draft choice of the 2000s. Oftentimes, it’s easy for an offensive lineman to go unnoticed. However, it’s rare that we completely forget about a former 1st round draft choice.

That’s probably because Kendall Simmons was somewhere right in the middle.

If a former 1st round choice was really bad (like Jarvis Jones) it tends to linger with us for a long time as we think about all of the other players the Steelers could have drafted in his stead. Likewise, we won’t soon forget about a former 1st round pick who turned out to be very good.

Kendall Simmons, however, was neither great nor awful. Combine this with the fact that he was an offensive guard, and you can see why he might have slipped through the cracks.

Remarkably, Simmons dressed for 80 games with the Steelers and started all 80 – spanning from 2002 to 2008. Simmons played just 4 games into the 2008 season before tearing his Achilles tendon and landing himself in injured reserve.

The following season at just 30 years old, Simmons tried to come back but played just 3 games for Buffalo and 1 with New England before calling it quits on his NFL career.

Home/Steelers All-Time Lists