The Pittsburgh Steelers have been great at drafting players thanks to legendary GM Kevin Colbert. Here are his ten best picks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers do their best talent acquisitions through the NFL Draft. That has always been their best way to keep their winning rosters despite annual turnover in the offseason. That system has been still going strong while Kevin Colbert has been one of the top dogs making the decisions during the draft.
There have been many great value picks for the black and gold with Colbert and his team during the process. He had some later-round picks that turned into All-Pros and others that were earlier options that had Hall of Fame careers for themselves. It has been a successful drafting career, along with his other moves, as he gets ready to retire.
Honorable mentions
Mike Wallace, Wide receiver (2009 NFL Draft: 3rd round, pick 84)
Mike Wallace was the first speedy target that Ben Roethlisberger got to have at his disposal. Wallace was extremely fast, especially for the time when his career’s prime lined up. He was able to use his speed to blow by defensive backs and be the top receiver for the Steelers for many years. Wallace was a great value in the third round that turned into a 10-year career, four with Pittsburgh, that spanned tenures with five teams
Max Starks, Offensive tackle (2004 NFL Draft: 3rd round, pick 75)
Max Starks was another great addition for the Steelers in the third round coming out of Florida. he was a cornerstone for the offensive line that helped win two Super Bowl championships. He was able to notch a great career that spanned over 10 seasons, nine with Pittsburgh, and a couple of cups of coffee with the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Arizona Cardinals.
Cam Heyward, Defensive end (2011 NFL Draft: 1st round, pick 31)
Cam Heyward was a great value at the end of round one for the Steelers coming off a Super Bowl loss. He started off his career slowly, but he has become one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL and one of the best leaders. He has continued the black and gold tradition that the team is always looking for. Heyward still has some gas left in the tank for his career, but he will go down as one of the best defensive linemen in franchise history.
Kelvin Beachum, Offensive tackle (2012 NFL Draft: 7th round, pick 248)
Kelvin Beachum was drafted with one of the very last picks in 2012. He was a project tackle coming out of SMU that would need a team to help him unleash his potential. The Steelers were willing to take the time and coach this player and it paid off nicely for both parties.
Beachum would turn into a starter for this team at left tackle and play for one of the best offensive lines in the Roethlisberger era. He was a great get by Kevin Colbert and company, but he was also a marvel of the coaching staff. Both the player and coaches got the best out of this tackle, and he made a great career from there.
It was a rough go as his rawness showed big time during his rookie preseason, but he had time on his side. Beachum grew leaps and bounds over the next season and improved his game. He is a hard worker that studies tape more than most. All those factors played into him becoming a steal in that draft.
This once project at tackle is entering his 11th season in the NFL that has seen him still play well as he gets older. Beachum is now anchoring the right tackle spot for the Arizona Cardinals. He has played for the Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and Cardinals during that time.
William Gay, Cornerback (2007 NFL Draft: 5th round, pick 170)
William Gay became one of the best interception artists that took it back to the house for the Steelers in recent years. He constantly found his way to the end zone each time he was able to intercept a pass. Drafting this player in the late portions of the event was a steal.
Gay was selected in the fifth round and joined a defense that was still a dominating force on a football field. They had many great players on that roster that would go after the opposing offense each week. Gay would come in and eventually start playing some meaningful snaps for the black and gold.
He would take over and start once the old guard of the Super Bowl-winning defenses started to go away, and this player became a leader. He would help mentor the young cornerbacks as they came into the building. He was a sound corner that was a sound tackler.
His career lasted a long time that spanned 11 seasons in the NFL. All his playing days were spent with the Steelers besides his lone year with the Arizona Cardinals. Gay was a great player that helped this team during a retooling period after the initial Super Bowl runs in the Roethlisberger era.
Ike Taylor, Cornerback (2003 NFL Draft: 4th round, pick 125)
The Steelers didn’t have a top-tier cornerback since Rod Woodson in the 90s, but they found a great corner here. Ike Taylor was picked in the fourth round and that was an absolute steal. He became one of the best cornerbacks to play for this franchise in the modern era.
Taylor was not the best all-around player in the league, but he was the number one option to defend opposing receivers. His play was great despite him playing with some hall of fame talents like Troy Polamalu and James Harrison. That was a special defense and Taylor was able to create a stronger unit on the field.
That secondary was special, but Taylor allowed the club to focus on other deployments of their talents. This corner was able to take on the top receivers one on one and be successful. He did have some negatives for his game, most notably him not being able to catch the football.
Taylor struggled to create takeaways throughout his career, despite having a big turnover in Super Bowl XL. He was a special player that played with a great intensity that the entire defense was able to play with as a unit. Getting a number one corner at that point in the draft is a steal and one of Colbert’s best selections.
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.
Brett Keisel, Defensive end (2002 NFL Draft: 7th round, pick 242)
Brett Keisel was one of the last selections of the 2002 NFL Draft and he turned himself into a great player. “Fear the Beard” is a saying that many still know very well as this player was able to become one of the most beloved players in franchise history. He has done so much for Pittsburgh both on and off the field.
The Steelers had a great defense at the time of this selection, and it allowed for this player to come along slowly behind some great talents. That time to grow his role from the bench to role player to starter with a few seasons in between. He would go on to win the Super Bowl twice with this team and become an anchor for the club.
The black and gold had one of the best defenses from the time this player was drafted until he retired in 2014 as the old guard started to leave. Keisel would be one of the pulses for the team as his leadership and easygoing attitude helped shape the group. There were many good players on that defense and this defensive lineman was able to hold his own.
Keisel’s career spanned over 13 seasons — all with the Steelers. He was only able to total 30 sacks during that run, but he was able to become one of the best run defenders in the NFL. He had a great career in the league that was another great seventh-round selection by Kevin Colbert and company.
Hines Ward, Wide receiver (1998 NFL Draft: 3rd round, pick 92)
Hines Ward was drafted in the third round coming out of Georgia. He was their starting quarterback there, but he transitioned to the receiver position to make for a career at the next level in the NFL. The smiling player became the fan favorite for the team that was physical and unique in his playstyle.
Ward was taken by the Steelers and caught on after his rookie season. That year created a slow start to his career, but during his second season, he started catching on. The rest is basically history as this player went on to have a borderline hall of fame career.
He was a leader for this offense that missed some of that on their group for some time. The amazing plays that became ingrained into Steelers history were nothing short of amazing. He was one of the most beloved players of the black and gold during that time, even though the team had many other great players.
Ward progressed all the way to eventually become the best receiver in franchise history as he broke many records. Ward retired after the 2011 season as the game started changing and young players started to take over. Two Super Bowl championships and many yards later, this player is still smiling in retirement.
Troy Polamalu, Safety (2003 NFL Draft: 1st round, pick 16)
Troy Polamalu became one of the most iconic images for the Steelers defense during their dominant reign throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. They were a unique group that was able to keep many great talents together. Polamalu was the best player on that historic defense that saw many players hop on the field.
It was something fans looked forward to watching on Sundays and those defenses tormented many of the offenses they went up against. Polamalu was a figure that many started creating fable stories about. Some thought he had some sixth sense that allowed him to create memorable defensive stops.
He was the “Flying Hawaiian” to many as he was able to leap over offensive lines and end the oncoming attack. His constant interceptions and big-time plays when it mattered most are what made him such a great player. He was a physical safety that had the finesse of going up and creating turnovers in the air.
This safety was a player that the Steelers had to trade up and get. It paid off big time as he was able to shape his career into a hall of fame enshrinement in Canton. He is a quiet Christian man that was able to make a memorable career full of great moments that fans will never forget.
James Harrison, Edge (2002 NFL Draft: Undrafted)
James Harrison became one of the most dominant outside linebackers in Steelers history. Many feared him throughout his career, and he certainly played into that persona. His great career got off to a slow and unremarkable start.
Deebo, as many called him, went undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft and signed with the Steelers. The team had a great defense with many edge rushers already on the team. He would stick with the club on the practice squad for a few years and in the same capacity with the Baltimore Ravens. Before he knew it, he was in NFL Europe with one last chance to get the attention of the NFL.
The Steelers came calling one last time and the rest was history. Harrison would have to sit behind Joey Porter for another season before he became the starter at outside linebacker. His signing as an undrafted free agent is one of the biggest steals in draft history. He is now the leader for most sacks in franchise history.
He is one of the best pass rushers in this team’s history and that is with limited time after his slow start in the NFL. His numbers would even be more impressive if he got to play at his highest level for a normal career length. This player was one of the top pass rushers during his career that outworked everyone in the gym and on the field.
Antonio Brown, Wide receiver (2010 NFL Draft: 6th round, pick 195)
Antonio Brown has become a soured name in the NFL, especially with Steelers fans recently. He left the team in a very unusual way and went on to win a Super Bowl ring with Tom Brady as his quarterback. It might be a long time before this city accepts him back, but you cannot deny how good of a player he was.
Selecting him in the sixth round was an absolute steal. At the time of his being drafted, there was a changing of the guard going on. Hines Ward was getting older and about to retire and the youth movement with Mike Wallace and Emanuel Sanders was ongoing.
Brown did not start immediately for this team, but he carved out a role as a return man. He was an explosive player in space that slowly got into the fold on the offense. He quickly became the best in the NFL at the receiver position once he got the starting spot.
He was the best receiver in the franchise’s history and would’ve broken all the records if he didn’t decide to demand his way out of the city. Pittsburgh does not hold his name in the highest light now, but he was a great talent at the position. Off the field issues have shoved him out of the NFL for now, but he was a showman on Sundays. Brown was one of the hardest workers that made himself into one of the best receivers of this generation.
Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback (2004 NFL Draft: 1st round, pick 11)
Ben Roethlisberger was the best choice that Kevin Colbert and his team made during his tenure here. That quarterback draft of 2004 was one of the best and luckily Big Ben landed in the black and gold colors of this franchise. He was a guy that was an Ohio product that just fit into the city on day one.
He had his own issues off the field that many will always talk about with his legacy, and rightfully so. His play on the field is what most Steelers fans will remember him by. No one ever played the game like him. He was able to run around and play the game like someone would in their backyard.
He took many big hits, but this signal-caller was tough until the very end of his career. He played hurt and gave everything he had to this club. He wanted to do anything it took to win football games and that led to two rings that he will take with him into retirement.
Drafting Roethlisberger was the best selection because he was able to help this team get over the hump and finally win the big game. He was the missing piece since the many letdowns of the 90s and early 2000s. He was able to create a successful and consistent team during his entire time playing as the quarterback in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have been very consistent with getting great players through the draft. Kevin Colbert has made this his bread and butter and allowed him to be one of the most successful general managers.