10 all-time greatest Pittsburgh Steelers second-round picks in the NFL Draft

The book is now closed on the 2023 NFL draft. Many feel the Steelers may have orchestrated one of the greatest drafts in team history, but history will dictate if it comes close to the 1974 Steelers draft.

While getting Broderick Jones in the first round was a needed selection, you can’t argue with their second-round selections Joey Porter Jr. at the 32nd pick and Keeanu Benton with their 49th pick. While these additions will help the Steelers for years to come, they are only two great selections out of many great players the Steelers have found in the 2nd round of the NFL draft.

In Steelers draft history, the Steelers have had 32 second-round selections, some of them great, and five of them were eventually enshrined in Canton. Some were not so great, like Zack Valentine or Ricardo Colclough. Plus, a few destined for greatness only to sabotage their career, such as Le’Veon Bell. A few players had average careers.

For this article, we will omit the second-round selections from 2021-2023 as their careers are too young effectively analyze. However, they could pop up on a revisited article in several years. So who are the 10 best 2nd round selections the Steelers have drafted?

#10 Stephon Tuitt, DT

Deciding on the number 10 best player taken in the 2nd was a toss-up between Tuitt and LaMarr Woodley; both were great, but the edge was given to Tuitt as he had a great career. However, it came to a halt due to his father's death, and he never fully recovered and decided to retire after the 2020 NFL Season, although he remained on the roster through the 2021 season.

Drafted in 2014, he played right defensive end and made a huge impact helping to solidify a tough Steelers defense. He finished his career with 246 combined tackles and 176 solo tackles and amassed 34.5 sacks having eleven sacks in 2020 as he was hitting his prime. Still, he had no pro bowls or made any all-pro teams still; his skill helped keep the defense competitive and made the Steelers contenders to reach the playoffs each season. They lost quite a bit when he chose to not return. He could have ranked higher it’s hard to say what would have happened if he returned after 2020.