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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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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 19: Strong safety #43 Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers leaps while attempting to deflect a pass thrown by #11 Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers during their game at Candlestick Park on December 19, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 19: Strong safety #43 Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers leaps while attempting to deflect a pass thrown by #11 Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers during their game at Candlestick Park on December 19, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images) /

1. Troy Polamalu, SS (2003)

Troy Polamalu grabs my number one spot on the ‘Top 50 Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s.’ I’m certainly not arguing against Ben Roethlisberger’s worth, but let me make my case for Polamalu.

At no point in time (at least from the general consensus) was Ben Roethlisberger considered the very best player in the league at his position. Likewise, Ben will not be considered one of the very best players at his position in the history of the league.

This is not the case for Troy Polamalu. Though he missed a large portion of his career with injuries, Polamalu is still a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the best safeties in the history of the league.

Though the quarterback position is clearly more valuable as a whole, the Steelers undeniably have two fewer Super Bowl victories without Polamalu.

The Steelers traded up to the 16th overall pick in 2013 to land Troy Polamalu, and that move would go down as one of the best decisions the franchise ever made.

Polamalu had a very aggressive playstyle. Though it would sometimes get him into trouble, his rare combination of instincts and athleticism helped him make many more plays than he missed.

Troy Polamalu played just 5 full seasons out of 12 in his career, yet remarkably managed to earn 8 Pro Bowl and 4 All-Pro honors. Polamalu was an absolute game-changer who opposing quarterbacks needed to account for on every play.

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He finished his career with 778 tackles, 56 tackles for a loss, 32 interceptions, 12.0 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, and 5 defensive touchdowns. Polamalu will go down as one of the best players in Steelers history, and one of the most iconic players in the history of the NFL.

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