Why Steelers should avoid taking a WR in first round of NFL Draft

Steelers #1 (13th overall) 1999, Troy Edwards

Here is a situation where if Troy had applied himself listened to the coaches, he might have developed into a decent wide receiver. None of that happened, at least until he left the Steelers, but at that point, it was too little too late

In a 2016 interview, Edwards opened up about what happened in his days as a member of the  Pittsburgh Steelers. The overall failure to rise as a star worthy of a number one draft choice may have stemmed from his own stubbornness.

"“I was dedicated to the game in college. The NFL was just so different. I blame myself for my career. I was just a simple guy. I didn’t want attention-the autographs and pictures. “It was a totally different system from college. The Steelers were a tough, hard-nosed organization. I was just freestyling in college. I didn’t know how to play the wide receiver in the NFL until I got to St. Louis”"

He moved on from the Steelers in 2002, played one season in St. Louis, then migrated to Jacksonville and had perhaps two more mediocre seasons and played three games for the Lions, and retired after 2005.

It’s not like the receivers they drafted as number one after 1984 were all bad players; several had decent talent. However, you had Lynn Swann help the Steelers win four Superbowls and later get enshrined in the Hall of Fame. While not Hall of Fame-level talent, Louis Lipps did have an eight-year career amassing 6018 yards.

However, whatever success they had between the 1970s and 1980s went once they entered the 1990s. However that said,  the Steelers real knack at drafting wide receivers comes from finding talent In the later rounds in the draft. They have managed to find many hidden gems, especially in the 3rd and fourth rounds