The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't been threatening contenders since 2017, roughly a decade ago... and Kevin Colbert deserves a lion's share of the blame. Though the team's former general manager had some amazing drafts early in his tenure, his final five seasons as GM proved disastrous.
Colbert's final draft class comes to mind, as the team took a desperate swing on Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. But even before that, the Steelers' 2019 draft class set this franchise back years.
Colbert and the Steelers' front office entered the 2019 NFL Draft with a boatload of draft capital. The team possessed a first-round pick (No. 20 overall), a second-round pick (No. 52), two third-round picks (No. 66 and No. 83), and six total selections on Day 3, including a fourth-rounder.
But despite a plethora of draft capital to work with, Colbert managed to screw up the 2019 draft in the worst way imaginable.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2019 NFL Draft class proved to be a major setback for the franchise
One of the worst and most criticized moves of Colbert's career came in Round 1 of the 2019 draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers were dialed in to getting an off-ball linebacker, and with LSU's Devin White already off the board, Michigan's Devin Bush was the target.
When Bush was still on the board at pick No. 10 in the draft, Colbert eagerly traded up ten spots with the Denver Broncos. In the process, they surrendered their first and second-round picks as well as a third-round pick in 2020.
This is the type of capital that you'd typically expect a team to surrender if they're moving up in the first round for a quarterback. Not only did the Steelers mortgage their top draft capital for a linebacker, but Bush later went on to have a disastrous career in Pittsburgh.
With no second-round pick following the trade, the Steelers made their best draft choice with the No. 66 selection in Round 3, landing Toledo wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The route-running specialist was inconsistent, thanks to his egregious drop issues, but proved to be a go-to player on his rookie contract.
Unfortunately, Johnson's career spiraled after earning a second deal in Pittsburgh, and he was eventually tossed around the league, as no team wanted to put up with his antics.
With the second of their third-round picks, the Steelers flat-out busted on Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne, who never started a game nor recorded an interception in his NFL career, which lasted just four seasons.
The Justin Layne pick was followed by Kentucky running back Benny Snell Jr. in the fourth round—a lumbering running back with 4.66 speed. Snell averaged just 3.6 yards per carry during his Steelers career and never played another NFL game after leaving Pittsburgh after his age-24 season. This selection was followed by Michigan tight end Zach Gentry, a blocking tight end who earned 39 career receptions for 303 yards.
The Steelers rounded out their 2019 draft class with bite-sized pass rusher Sutton Smith, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs, linebacker Ulysees Gilbert, and offensive tackle Derwin Gray.
Despite starting the draft with a first-, second-, and two third-round picks and owning 10 total selections, the Steelers got only starting-caliber play from one player, Diontae Johnson, and only for a few years.
It's now been two years since any player from the class remained on the Steelers' roster, and most were gone long before that. These players would be entering their eighth NFL season, so it's unlikely more than 2 or 3 would still be on the team. However, this group, outside of Johnson, offered the Steelers next to nothing.
In a way, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still paying the price for Kevin Colbert's final five disastrous draft classes, and when you consider the draft capital Colbert had to work with, 2019 was the worst of them all.
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