Two Steelers players selected in first round of 2015 re-draft

Two Pittsburgh Steelers were among those chosen in a recent 2015 re-draft.

Looking back at previous NFL Draft results can sometimes bring the return of painful memories. But for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they should be very happy with some of the selections they’ve made in recent drafts.

Just in the last four years, the Steelers have been able to add a number of talented players including T.J. Watt, Devin Bush, Diontae Johnson, James Conner, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Back in 2015, Pittsburgh used their only pick in the first round on former Kentucky linebacker Bud Dupree. If the Steelers had the ability to go back to that year’s NFL Draft, would they still end up with Dupree?

Pittsburgh Steelers stick with defense in 2015 re-draft

During the 2015 NFL Draft, 21 selections were made before Pittsburgh was able to use their first pick on Dupree. Would the talented pass rusher still be on the board if the 2015 draft were re-done today?

Luckily, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport decided to find out when he recently re-drafted the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for the Steelers though, Dupree was already snatched up by another team before it came time for Pittsburgh to make their first selection.

In Davenport’s re-draft, the current Steelers linebacker came off the board at pick No. 18 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Originally, the Chiefs used this selection on former Washington cornerback Marcus Peters. But since Peters was drafted at pick No. 3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Davenport had the Chiefs go with Dupree instead.

So with Dupree no longer available, this re-draft has Pittsburgh selecting former Mississippi State pass rusher Preston Smith with their first-round pick.

Currently a member of the Green Bay Packers, Smith began his NFL career with Washington before landing with the green and gold last season. He’s coming off a year in which he put up a total of 12 sacks, so it seems like he could have found success as a member of the Steelers defense if that’s who he actually ended up getting drafted by in 2015.

Davenport wasn’t finished with the Pittsburgh-related selections as he chose to have current Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson come off the board at pick No. 27 and end up with the Dallas Cowboys. Nelson was originally drafted by Kansas City in the third round and he spent four seasons there before he signed a three-year deal with Pittsburgh in 2019.

So what do we think? Did Davenport get it right with Dupree and Nelson going in the first round and the Steelers ending up with Smith?