The Steelers have a long and storied history that has seen us win six Lombardi Trophies, four of which were won during a six-year span of the decade of the 1970s. Those Super Bowl-winning teams were built through the draft, make no mistake about it.
From 1969 to 1974, the Steelers drafted nine future Hall of Fame players. I think it's fair to say we 'struck gold' in those draft classes; however, that wasn't or hasn't always been the case. Unfortunately, like every other franchise, we have had more than our fair share of draft classes that yielded players who can only be labeled as 'busts'.
Before we commence with this particular discussion, keep in mind that we will be honing in on players who I believe were draft busts for reasons that will become evident as we progress through this discussion. Let's take a look at the fifteen players who were, in my opinion, the biggest roster 'busts'.
The Steelers drafted two cornerbacks and a running back who did not live up to their billing
When the Steelers selected Dave Brown in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft, I was six years old. I really have no recollection of him as a Steeler but I vividly remember him as a player for the Seattle Seahawks. In 1976, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks entered the league, there was an expansion draft.
Brown was one of the players who was left unprotected and thus eligible for the expansion draft. I can only assume that we thought Brown would not be selected, but the fact that we left a second-year player and former first-round pick unprotected was quite odd to me.
Brown went on to have a pretty solid career, playing fifteen seasons and amassing sixty-two interceptions. Unfortunately, only one season was played as a Steeler with no starts to his credit. For these reasons, I would offer that Brown is the fifteenth biggest draft bust.
Coming in at number fourteen on our list is another cornerback, Ron Johnson, who was selected in the first round of the 1978 draft. Johnson played in ninety-one games, starting sixty-two of them while nabbing thirteen INTs over his seven-year career.
If Johnson had not been a first-round pick, I would offer that his career would have been solid except for the fact that as a former first-round pick of the Steelers, I think the expectations were higher than what the reality was. Frankly, there were times when I questioned what Johnson was doing on a particular play.
It's not that Johnson was 'bad", but, again, a former first-round pick should have had more of an impact than he did, as far as I'm concerned. Let's continue our discussion with the players who comes in at number thirteen.
Greg Hawthrone was the Steelers first-round pick in the 1979 draft. Hawthrone played nine years in the NFL, five of those for us. He never seemed to be able to 'get into a groove' as a running back, having started only eleven games and having amassed a total of five hundred and twenty-two yards on the ground.
Hawthrone also played some wide receiver, which is interesting because I thought Hawthrone's best attribute was the ability to catch the ball. Despite being listed at 6'2" and 228 lbs., Hawthrone just didn't look like a 'big back' like Franco Harris who was essentially the same size as Hawthrone.
Let's continue our discussion by looking at who comes in at numbers twelve, eleven, and ten, respectively.
The Steelers drafted a quarterback, a cornerback and a defensive lineman who had less-than-stellar careers
Coming in at number twelve on our list is Mark Malone, who was our first-round pick in the 1980 NFL draft. Malone played seven seasons for us and accumulated a win-loss record of twenty-one wins and twenty-four regular season losses. I remember watching Malone play and thinking this: 'He's a good athlete who just can't seem to get over the proverbial hump'.
Malone also finished his Steelers career with fifty-four TD passes against sixty-eight INTs. Malone surpassed the two-thousand-yard passing mark only twice for us. It's not that Malone was bad, per se. It's just that Malone did not possess that 'it' factor that Terry Bradshaw had, the QB he was drafted to ostensibly replace down the road.
Grabbing the number eleven spot on our list is Deon Figures, our number one pick in the 1993 draft. I remember watching Figures play in college and thinking he would look really 'snazzy' in the Black and Gold. Unfortunately, it did not work out the way I and the Steelers hoped it would.
Figures was the 1992 Jim Thorpe Award winner, one of his many college accolades. In the NFL, he did not enjoy the same success. During his four-year Steelers career, Figures played in sixty-one games, starting twenty-three of them.
Figures managed to intercept only three passes in four years with us. He would play for two additional seasons, finishing his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he picked off six passes. Go figure, pardon the almost pun.
At number ten on our list is Darryl Sims, a defensive lineman we selected in the first round of the 1985 draft. I can't really say much about Sims other than he was one of many of the defensive linemen we selected high in the draft in an attempt to replicate the success we had with the front four of the Steel Curtain.
Once we converted from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4 base defense, it was all the more imperative that we had three defensive linemen who were good against the run but who also had pass-rush upside. Sims played two seasons for us, started zero games, and generated three sacks.
Let's see who comes in at numbers nine, eight, and seven, respectively. Here's where it starts getting interesting.
The Steelers drafted two offensive linemen and a wide receiver whose careers did not go quite the way we had hoped they would go
Grabbing the number nine spot on our list is John Rienstra, an offensive lineman from Temple University, my alma mater. This one is tough for me because not only did I have really high hopes for Rienstra, I think the Steelers had really high hopes as well.
Rienstra was selected number nine overall in the 1986 draft. I remember an article appearing in one of the local Philadelphia newspapers where Rienstra and my all-time favorite Steelers player, Mike Webster, were standing next to each other during what appeared to be a padded practice. I cut out that article and still have it to this day.
Rienstra played five seasons for us, playing in forty-two games and starting twenty-seven of those. I remember thinking that Rienstra was going to be a 'star' not only because of his physical attributes, a 6' 5", 273 pounder who was also athletic but because he would be mentored by 'Iron Mike'. Alas, it was not meant to be.
Coming in at number eight is Troy Edwards, a wide receiver from Lousiana Tech we drafted thirteenth overall in 1999. Edwards had a very productive college career as evidenced by the fact that he amassed over four-thousand receiving yards and just under one-thousand return yards while at LA Tech.
Unfortunately for us, that productivity did not translate in the NFL. Edwards played only three seasons for us, started only seven games, and never had more than seven hundred and fourteen yards receiving in a single season. For a former top-fifteen pick who had a lot of promise, things just simply did not work out for Edwards or for us.
With the number seven spot on our list is Jamain Stephens, our first-round pick in the 1996 draft. When we drafted Stephens, my first thought was that we had had a lot of success over the years drafting players from small schools.
Unfortunately, that success did not come to fruition with Stephens, who lasted only two seasons with us, playing in nineteen games and starting eleven of them. Stephens just really was never able to figure it out, so to speak and was out of football altogether following the 2001 season.
Let's continue our discussion with the numbers six, five, and four players on the list. We are in the home stretch.
The Steelers drafted a linebacker, a cornerback, and a running back whose careers fell short of expectations
When we selected Jarvis Jones with the seventh pick of the 2013 draft, it was met with some questions, at least for me. Jones was a really good athlete in college, but I thought that he wasn't as strong at the point of attack as James Harrison, the player he was ostensibly drafted to replace.
Harrison, much to my dismay, played the 2013 with another team, thus the need to replace him. Jones was supposed to be that replacement. That never happened. Jones played for the Steelers for four seasons, playing in fifty games, starting thirty-five of them, and accumulating a woeful six sacks. Not sure what else to say about that.
Coming in at number five on our list is Artie Burns, our first-round pick in the 2016 draft. Burns flashed promise in his rookie campaign, starting nine games and nabbing three INTs. In his second season, Burns started all sixteen games and nabbed one INT. By season three, Burns was essentially relegated to a back-up role, starting only six games.
What was evident to me by year three was that Burns had become somewhat of a liability in coverage. In 2018, he gave completions at a sixty-four percent clip. Yikes. Burns lasted one more season with us before moving on to another team. I would categorize Burns as promise unfulfilled.
Grabbing the number four spot on our list is Tim Worley, a running back out of Georgia we drafted in the first round in 1989. What was interesting about the 1989 draft is this: the Steelers had two first-round picks in that draft, neither of whom made much of an impact during their tenure.
What was also interesting about the 1989 draft is this: a Hall of Fame running back was selected four spots ahead of Worley. I dare say that Barry Sanders, the aforementioned running back, would have looked pretty good in Black and Gold.
In any event, we drafted Worley who played four seasons for us, rushed for thirteen-hundred and thirty-eight yards, and scored a total of five rushing TDs. Worley was out of football after playing two seasons for the Chicago Bears.
Let's see who comes in at the third, second, and first spots on our list. We are in the home stretch.
The Steelers drafted an offensive lineman and two defensive players whose careers were short and uneventful
Coming in at number three on our list is Tom Ricketts, an offensive lineman out of Pitt, ironically. Ricketts was selected in the first round of the 1989 draft, the same round as Tim Worley. The Steelers were in prime position in 1989 to significantly improve the roster, particularly in the first round.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Ricketts played three seasons for us but started only thirteen games. Normally, when we drafted an O-lineman in the first round, especially back then, that player started right away and made an impact. Ricketts was out of football in five years.
Grabbing the number two spot on our list is Aaron Jones, a defensive end we selected in the first round of the 1988 draft. Jones played five seasons for the Steelers, but for a former top-twenty pick, he really did not have the impact that I'm sure we had hoped for.
Jones accumulated nine and a half sacks and one INT in sixty-seven games; however, Jones started only twenty-two of those games. That's not good for a former top-twenty pick. Jones would play for four more seasons then was out of football before the ten-year mark.
Coming in as the Steelers biggest roster bust is Huey Richardson, a linebacker/defensive end out of Florida whom we selected in the first round of the 1991 draft. As you may or may not know, the 1991 draft would be the last draft of the Chuck Noll era.
Listed at 6' 5" and 238 lbs., Richardson was an undersized player who was just never able to put anything together. He was too small to play defensive end in our 3-4 scheme and was not suited to play inside linebacker.
Richardson lasted all of one season with the Steelers, appearing in five games with zero starts. Think about that for a second. A first-round pick who lasted one season. Yikes. I remember in 1992 when Bill Cowher was hired, I was shocked to find out that Richardson had been cut, although I later found out that he had actually been traded.
Remember, back then there was no internet. Not having grown up in Pittsburgh, it was hard to find news about the Steelers. In any event, I would offer that Richardson represents the double-edged sword that is an inexorable part of the NFL draft.
I hope you enjoyed our discussion as much as I did.
All statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.