Hall of Fame players Steelers could have drafted but did not

The Steelers have drafted several Hall of Fame players throughout our storied history, but there were some players we bypassed who were later enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Steelers have drafted plenty of Hall of Fame players throughout our existence.  In the 1974 draft alone, we selected four players whose careers earned them the privilege of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

From an organizational perspective, I do not believe that our thought when we draft a player is whether or not that player will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame after he calls it quits, but it is certainly a possibility given the fact that the Steelers seem to have a proclivity to draft players who end up being elected to the Hall of Fame.

Having been a fan since 1978, I have had the honor of watching several of our current and future Hall of Fame players in action, but I have always thought about those players whom the Steelers could have drafted who ended up in the Hall of Fame but, for whatever reason, we did not draft.

I realize that we can’t do the ‘woulda, shoulda, coulda’ when discussing the players the Steelers bypassed in favor of other players; however, the players we are about to discuss are, in my opinion, blatant and obvious ‘misses’.

As with any list, this one is inherently subjective, but I think as we progress through our discussion, you will notice an attempt on my part to infuse objectivity into our analysis.  With that in mind, let’s get started.