5 most disappointing Steelers of the modern era

The Steelers selected a linebacker in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL draft whose potential never materialized

As I have stated many times before, players are drafted on potential, among other things.  When the Steelers drafted Jason Worilds, LB out of Virginia Tech, in the second round of the 2010 draft, I’m pretty sure we assumed we were getting a player with potential, otherwise the Steelers would have selected someone else instead.

The issue for me with Worilds was this: he just could not seem to consistently get on the field.  In five seasons with the Steelers, Worilds played in 73 games but started only 37 of them.  His most productive seasons came in years four and five.  After year five, he abruptly and surprisingly retired.

In those five seasons, Worilds had 1 INT, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 25.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss.  He also had 67 QB hits, of which 45 came in his final two seasons.  Speaking of which, Worilds generated 15.5 of the aforementioned 25.5 sacks in his final two seasons.

For me, the disappointment comes into play in the sense that had Worilds been more productive in years one, two, and three, perhaps the Steelers would have been able to work out a contract extension rather than having the utilize the transition tag.  Honestly, no one knows how things would have worked out. All I know is that things did not work out with Worilds.

Let’s move on to our next player.