Ranking every Steelers first-round draft pick of the Mike Tomlin era

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90)
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) | Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
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15. Jarvis Jones, 2013 first-round pick

Ranking dead last is Jarvis Jones. Jones has a special place in my heart. The 2013 draft was the first one I remember “scouting” as a fan. I was enamored by Jones due to his impressive 28 sacks over only two seasons at Georgia. I never watched his tape, so I never saw the fact that most of his sacks were extremely low quality and I ignored his horrible athletic testing.

Unfortunately, those issues have a tendency of being exploited at the NFL level, and Jones was no exception. Sacks didn’t come as easily as they did in school and Jones quickly fell out of favor in Pittsburgh. He got plenty of opportunities to start and play, but his talent limited his ability to succeed.

Jones easily had the lowest score of anyone on this list. He never had a good season as a starter or as a rotational player, and his stint with the team ended after his rookie contract. He never played elsewhere, as he signed with the Cardinals but failed to make the team. Granted, that doesn’t affect his final grade, but it shows just how bad of a player he was.

Jones never materialized into a good starter for this team, and he never came close to replicating the stats he had in college. Because of this, he takes the spot of the worst first-round pick of the Tomlin era.

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