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5 most underappreciated players in Steelers history

By Ryan Pawloski

Defensive lineman Joe Greene(75) and LC Greenwood(68) attack the Bengals offense in a 27 to 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on December 14, 1974 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Clifton Boutelle/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Defensive lineman Joe Greene(75) and LC Greenwood(68) attack the Bengals offense in a 27 to 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on December 14, 1974 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Clifton Boutelle/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Steelers
Defensive lineman Aaron Smith #91 of the Pittsburgh Steelers pursues the play. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

Aaron Smith helped solidify the Steelers defense in the 2000s

Aaron Smith was a fourth-round pick coming out of a small school in 1999. He would be drafted by the Steelers coming out of Northern Colorado and quickly become one of the best defensive linemen on the roster. Smith had a little bit of an adjustment period before he became the full-time starter for this group.

Many know about the famous Blitzburgh defenses of the 90s, well that era was starting to end when Smith showed up. It was a transition period of sorts between the 90s and early 2000s that saw many starters change over. Luckily, this franchise knew what to do and found some great replacements, and continued their storied defensive ways.

The reason that this player gets overlooked is because of the other big names and personalities that he played with. Names like James Harrison, Joey Porter, Troy Polamalu, Brett Keisel, and many more got a lot more attention. Smith worked hard and became one of the best-run defenders of his generation.

He was one of those players that many people did not give enough credit to while he helped get two more rings to Pittsburgh. He was a big part of this defense but was overlooked by most fans. This player was one that you did not realize how important he was until he was missing during games.

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