10 greatest Steelers draft choices during the Kevin Colbert era

T.J. Watt, Edge (2017 NFL Draft, 1st round, pick 30)

T.J. Watt started what turned out to be one of the better draft classes in recent Steelers history. That class saw him join the team followed by names like JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, and Cameron Sutton. All of those names were contributors to this team in a big way.

Watt was expected to go in the later portions of the first round, but no one knew the type of player that he would turn into. The value for this pick looking back on it was astronomical and paid off for Kevin Colbert and company. They were able to get a potential future hall of fame talent towards the end of the first night back in 2017.

The Watt family has become synonymous with being some of the best defensive players to ever play on a grass field. This Watt on the Steelers was able to come in and hit the ground running during his rookie season and continue his growth from there. He truly has become a player on a hall of fame trajectory at this moment in his career.

The only season where this player didn’t rack up more than ten sacks was his rookie year. Since then, he has totaled 13 or more sacks each season in his career. The stat line that he carries with him is ridiculous and he is just getting started, even after coming off a record-breaking year that secured his first defensive player of the year award.