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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) /
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CINCINNATI – OCTOBER 13: Casey Hampton #98 of the Pittsburgh Steelers run away from Matt O’Dwyer #72 of the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on October 13, 2002 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Steelers beat the Bengals 34-7. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI – OCTOBER 13: Casey Hampton #98 of the Pittsburgh Steelers run away from Matt O’Dwyer #72 of the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on October 13, 2002 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Steelers beat the Bengals 34-7. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images) /

8. Casey Hampton, NT (2001)

Back when teams ran the ball much more often, Casey Hampton was there to shut it down. The former 2001 1st round draft choice was virtually unmovable and nearly impossible to run on.

The Steelers used to play a lot more base 3-4 defense back in the early 2000s, and Casey Hampton was the nose tackle that made it all possible.

In today’s NFL, Hampton would be undervalued and unappreciated. He did so many things for the Steelers that didn’t go down on the stat sheet, and he didn’t care.

Hampton was a 6’1”, 325-pound wrecking ball who destroyed opposing run games. He earned just 9.0 sacks over the course of 12 seasons with the Steelers, but Pittsburgh knew his value didn’t come with his sack production.

Casey Hampton was an old-school defensive lineman in terms of what he did for his team, but he was a huge reason why the Steelers were able to have one of the best defenses in the league for such a long time.

Along with his counterparts, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, Hampton led one of the most dominant defensive fronts in the league. The Steelers used to be so good at shutting down the run, that I remember getting irritated when opposing running backs would cross the line of scrimmage.

Hampton went on to receive 5 Pro Bowl honors with the Steelers before retiring at the age of 35 in 2012.

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