5 most disappointing Steelers of the modern era

The Steelers selected a Linebacker in the first round of the 2013 draft who played out his rookie contract

When the Steelers selected Jarvis Jones, LB out of Georgia, in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft, I’m sure they were expected to get more out of him than just 4 seasons, but, unfortunately for us, that’s all we got out of him.

Following the 2012 season, James Harrison signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent.  Jones was drafted ostensibly to replace Harrison, who, after all, was 35 years old entering the 2013 season.  A younger LB surely would have been a better option than a 35-year-old LB, right?

Not quite.  The Steelers re-signed Harrison in 2014, presumably for depth, but despite starting only 12 games in his final 4 seasons with the Steelers, Harrison managed to notch another 16.5 sacks, thus adding to his already stellar production.

Conversely, in his 4 seasons with the Steelers, Jones started 35 of 50 contests, nabbing 2 INTs, 3 fumble recoveries, and 6 sacks. You read that correctly; Jones had a total of 6 sacks in 4 years.  I would say that level of production was quite disappointing.

After drafting Worilds in 2010 and Jones in 2013, the Steelers would be forced to draft another LB in the first round of the 2015 draft, who had a career year in 2019 but is currently playing on a one year deal.  Had either Worilds or Jones ‘panned out’, maybe the Steelers would not have had to draft yet another LB.

Let’s bring this particular discussion ‘home’.