The Pittsburgh Steelers only have one player remaining from their forgettable 2021 draft class: tight end Pat Freiermuth. Najee Harris headlined an unremarkable group that missed the mark, and despite nine selections, Freiermuth was the only player who stuck with the team past his rookie contract.
But the worst selection, in respect to draft capital spent, was Illinois center/guard, Kendrick Green.
What made this pick so egregious was the flood of interior offensive line talent the Steelers could have taken in the first three rounds of the 2021 draft. Instead, former general manager Kevin Colbert and his staff ignored talent in favor of scheme fit. Now we just got another painful reminder of this third-round draft blunder.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently released his rankings of the top-10 guards and centers, as voted on by NFL execs, coaches, and scouts. Unfortunately, Zach Frazier didn't even land in the honorable mention category.
However, what's more troubling is seeing Chiefs center Creed Humphrey ranked 3rd and Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz ranked 4th on ESPN's rankings.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should have selected Creed Humphrey or Quinn Meinerz over Kendrick Green in the 2021 draft
On February 12, 2021, long-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement from the NFL, ending his 11-year pro career. This instantly opened up a spot on the interior offensive line, and we knew the Steelers would be eyeing the position in the draft.
At the time, Creed Humphrey and Quinn Meinerz were two of my favorite prospects. Both interior offensive linemen put up a dominant showing during Senior Bowl week and had excellent film that suggested they belonged in the first two rounds of the draft.
And this isn't revisionist history; Humphrey was the 27th overall player on my pre-draft big board in 2021, and Meinerz was 42nd. Green did not crack my top-150 players for the 2021 NFL Draft.
But the Steelers were sold on Najee Harris in Round 1. When Round 2 came around, both Humphrey and Meinerz were still on the board, but Colbert went with Freiermuth to fill a hole at tight end.
By the third round, Humphrey was off the board, but Meinerz was ripe for the picking. This felt like a slam dunk. The small-school product had center/guard versitility and outstanding anchoring strength. However, the Steelers threw us a curveball by going with Green, an undersized interior offensive lineman from the Big Ten who needed a lot of refinement.
Green's biggest issues, however, were his lack of size and strength. At 6'1 7/8'' and 305 pounds with 77 '' arms, Green was manhandled often at the point of attack.
The Kendrick Green experiment lasted just two seasons, and in his second and final year with Pittsburgh, Green spent the entire season on the inactive list and did not suit up for a single regular-season game.
Since then, Creed Humphrey has earned four Pro Bowls and two First-Team All-Pros with Kansas City, cementing himself as one of the best centers in the league. Likewise, Meinerz has now earned back-to-back First-Team All-Pro honors at guard for the Broncos with a Pro Bowl appearance in 2025.
Either of these players would have been perfect selections for the Steelers. Pittsburgh got two chances to draft Humphrey and three chances to draft Meinerz with their selections at hand. Kendrick Green already feels like a forgotten Pittsburgh Steelers player, but it stings every time we remember what this team could have had in the 2021 draft instead.
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