Draft History: Hall of Fame talent abounds among Steelers picks
While the Cowboys drafted their share of top talent, the Steelers history is downright scary. Pittsburgh’s draft picks include a who’s who of Pro Bowlers, All-Pros and Hall of Famers so extensive that most spots needed multiple players just to fit on the “best” list. That doesn’t even include Len Dawson and Johnny Unitas, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks who had their success after leaving Pittsburgh. All this comes for a team that made the playoffs just once in its first 39 years of existence.
BEST
10. (tie) Billy Dudley, RB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1942) and John Henry Johnson, FB (Round 2, Pick 18 in 1953) – These are two of the best backs in team history and they barely crack the top 10. Running back and quarterback Byron “Whizzer” White (more on him later) was supposed to be the future of the Pittsburgh franchise when he was drafted in 1938, but he left after one season. His role eventually fell to Dudley, a 1941 All-American and Maxwell Award winner (as best all-around player in college football) at Virginia. He earned his only All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors with the Steelers after leading the NFL with 696 rushing yards in 11 games as a rookie. After serving in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, Dudley returned to Pittsburgh and led the league in rushing again with 604 yards in 1946. He was traded to the Lions in 1947 and then the Redskins two years later. After his career, Dudley served as a scout for the Lions and Steelers, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966. He died after suffering a stroke in 2010.
Johnson was a standout runner and kick returner at Arizona State who played one season with the Calgary Stampeders in the precursor to the CFL, the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). He starred on offense, defense and special teams, winning the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy as the WIFU’s most valuable player. When Johnson came back from Canada, he was a free agent and signed with the 49ers. After three years each with San Francisco and Detrot, Johnson signed with Pittsurgh and had two 1,000-yard seasons and was a three-time Pro Bowler for the team that drafted him. The 1987 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee suffered lasting effects from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and after his death in 2011, his brain was donated so researchers could study the effects of the condition.
9. (tie) Ben Roethlisberger, QB (Round 1, Pick 11 in 2004), Antonio Brown, WR (Round 6, Pick 195 in 2010) and Le’Veon Bell, RB (Round 2, Pick 48 in 2013) – Three stars from the past decade are all neatly packed into one spot on the list. Roethlisberger owned more than 20 passing records at Miami of Ohio when the Steelers selected him in 2004. Over his 16-year career, “Big Ben” has led Pittsburgh to a pair of titles and holds club records with 56,545 yards and 363 touchdowns. He was also the 2004 Offensive Rookie of the Year, a five-time Pro Bowler and a two-time league-leader in passing yards. Roethlisberger is not without blemish, though. His off-the-field incidents eventually resulted in a suspension in 2010, and he also has feuded with several teammates through the years, most notably receivers Antonio Brown and Hines Ward.
Like his quarterback, Brown was a star in the Mid-American Conference, winning All-American honors twice at Central Michigan. When he was drafted, he not only held team records in receptions and yards but he also has the top three seasons in Chippewas history in both categories. “AB” is a seven-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro who twice led the NFL in receiving yards. His totals of 837 catches, 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns all rank second in team history behind Ward, but Brown’s off-field behavior led to a trade to the Raiders before the 2019 season.
Bell was a member of Michigan State’s Big Ten championship team as a freshman in 2010 and earned All-American honors two years later. Despite playing just five seasons in Pittsburgh, Bell was already fourth on the team’s all-time list with 5,336 rushing yards and third with 35 touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and a three-time 1,000-yard rusher. After the Steelers used the franchise tag on Bell in two straight seasons, he elected to sit out the 2018 season instead. Bell signed with the Jets in 2019.
8. (tie) Alan Faneca, G (Round 1, Pick 26 in 1988) and Maurkice Pouncey, C (Round 1, Pick 18 in 2010) – A 1997 All-American at LSU, Faneca played 10 seasons with the Steelers. He went to the Pro Bowl the final seven years, was a six-time All-Pro and started in a Super Bowl XL victory over the Seahawks. Faneca signed with the Jets, where he was a Pro Bowler in both seasons in New York and played in the 2009 AFC Championship Game. He retired after spending the 2010 season with the Cardinals.
Pouncey was an All-American and won a National Championship with Florida in 2009 along with his identical twin brother, Mike. In nine NFL seasons, Maurkice has been selected to eight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. He missed most of 2013 after tearing both his right ACL and MCL when teammate David DeCastro accidentally rolled over his ankle. Pouncey also lost the 2015 season after suffering a broken fibula during a preseason game. However, he returned to his starting spot the following year, which ended with a Steelers loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Pouncey made headlines this past season for his role during an on-field altercation between Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph, receiving a two-game suspension.
7. (tie) Andy Russell, LB (Round 16, Pick 220 in 1963) and L.C. Greenwood, DE (Round 10, Pick 238 in 1969) – Russell did not play football until his sophomore season in high school, but he overcame a late draft spot to play all 14 games as a rookie. He missed the next two seasons while he was in Germany fulfilling his ROTC commitments from the University of Missouri. Russell returned to Pittsburgh in 1966, earning seven Pro Bowl selections and winning two titles in 11 seasons. After his football career, Russell was a successful investment banker and author.
While Russell played during the early years of the “Steel Curtain,” Greenwood starred throughout the 1970s on the famed defense. He attended Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College, which is now known as Arkansas-Pine Bluff, before spending 13 years with the Steelers. Greenwood was a six-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and a four-time champion. Although sacks were not an official NFL statistic until 1982 (the year after Greenwood retired), he was unofficially credited with 12½ sacks in 18 playoff games, including four in a Super Bowl X victory over the Cowboys, which would be a single-game record. He died of kidney failure in 2013 at age 67.
6. (tie) Mike Webster, C (Round 5, Pick 125 in 1974) and Dermontti Dawson, C (Round 2, Pick 44 in 1988) – Webster starred at Wisconsin and was a stalwart for 15 seasons in Pittsburgh. After taking over for longtime Steeler Ray Mansfield in 1976, Webster started 150 straight games until suffering a dislocated elbow in 1986. The Hall of Famer was also a nine-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro who appeared in all four of the team’s Super Bowls during his career. He signed with the Chiefs in 1989 and played two years in Kansas City before retiring. Even while still playing, Webster was starting to have amnesia, dementia and bone and muscle pain, issues associated with brain damage stemming from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He died from a heart attack in 2002.
Webster followed in Mansfield’s footsteps and mentored Dawson, who replaced him as starting center when Webster signed with Kansas City. After graduating from Kentucky, Dawson started 181 games over 13 seasons. From 1992-98, he was selected to seven straight Pro Bowls and earned six All-Pro selections. Dawson also started 13 playoff games, including a Super Bowl XXX loss to the Cowboys. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
5. (tie) Ernie Stautner, DT (Round 2, Pick 22 in 1950) and Joe Greene, DT (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1969) – The German-born Stautner immigrated to upstate New York as a child and served in the Marines during World War II. He was a four-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines at Boston College before spending 14 seasons in Pittsburgh. The nine-time Pro Bowler and 1958 All-Pro tops the franchise list among non-quarterbacks with 23 fumbles recovered. The Hall of Fame player was Pittsburgh’s player-coach in 1963-64, and also was the defensive coordinator under Tom Landry in Dallas for 23 years. He earned Arena Football League Coach of the Year honors with the Dallas Texans in 1990 and led the NFL Europe’s Frankfort Galaxy to a World Bowl III title in 1996.
Joe Greene was a 1968 All-American at North Texas State. The school was nicknamed the Mean Green, leading to his “Mean” Joe nickname. Greene spent 13 years in Pittsburgh, earning 10 Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections. The four-time champion was also the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1969 and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (1972 and ’74). He also had seven unofficial sacks in 17 career postseason games. An intimidating and aggressive player, Greene showed his softer side in an iconic 1979 Coca-Cola commercial where he tosses his jersey to a young boy who gives him a bottle of soda. The 1987 Pro Football hall of Fame inductee spent 17 years as an NFL assistant coach and 10 more as a special assistant for player personnel with the Steelers before retiring in 2013.
4. (tie) Mel Blount, CB (Round 3, Pick 53 in 1970) and Rod Woodson, DB (Round 1, Pick 10 in 1987) – Blount was a Hall of Famer who played at Southern University in Louisiana. The five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro is Pittsburgh’s all-time leader with 57 interceptions, including a league-high 11 in 1975, when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Blount had four interceptions in 19 playoff games, including two in Steelers Super Bowl wins. After his playing career, he was the league’s Director of Player Relations for eight years and also opened two shelters for victims of child abuse and neglect.
Woodson was both a high school and college All-American, winning the award twice while at Purdue. He was also a track star who gave up competing in the 1984 Olympic Trials to focus on football. Woodson is a six-time Pro Bowler, a five-time All-Pro and the 1993 Defensive Player of the Year after posting eight interceptions. He ranks fourth in team history with 38 picks and also is tied for the top spot with five returned for scores. The 2009 Pro Football Hall of Famer was also a talented returner, and he holds franchise records with 4,894 kickoff and 2,362 punt return yards. He coached defensive backs for three seasons in Oakland until he was fired when Jon Gruden became head coach in 2018.
3. (tie) Franco Harris, RB (Round 1, Pick 13 in 1972), Lynn Swann, WR (Round 1, Pick 21 in 1974) and John Stallworth, WR (Round 4, Pick 82 in 1974) – Three of the greatest offensive weapons in Steelers history were drafted by the team in the early 1970s. Harris played in college at Penn State and stayed in Pennsylvania for 12 of his 13 pro seasons, amassing Steelers team records with 11,950 yards and 91 touchdowns. Harris was selected to the Pro Bowl in his first nine seasons, had eight 1,000-yard campaigns, was an All-Pro in 1977 and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1972. He was a member of four championship teams, earning game MVP honors after rushing for 158 yards and a touchdown in a 16-6 win over the Vikings in Super Bowl IX. However, his most memorable moment came in a Division Round game against the Raiders in 1972. A pass intended for John Fuqua was deflected when Oakland safety Jack Tatum came in and hit Fuqua. Harris grabbed the ball and ran into the end zone for a touchdown, giving Pittsburgh a 13-7 win. When Harris asked for a pay raise after the 1983 season, the Rooney family refused and cut the back. He spent the final year of his career with the Seahawks. He retired with 12,120 rushing yards, which was third at the time and now ranks 12th in NFL history.
Swann was a member of USC’s undefeated National Championship squad in 1972 and was named an All-American the following season. In nine NFL seasons, he recorded 51 touchdowns (fourth in team history), 336 receptions and 5,462 yards (both rank sixth). Swann was a three-time Pro Bowler and a 1978 All-Pro who led the league with 11 scores in 1975. He was the MVP of Super Bowl X after catching four passes for 161 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown.
Swann joined with Stallworth to form one of the most dangerous receiver pairings of the 1970s. Stallworth ranks third in Steelers history in receiving yards (8,723) and touchdowns (63), and is fourth with 537 receptions. The three-time Pro Bowler and 1979 All-Pro was known for his long receptions at the most opportune moments. In a Super Bowl XIII victory against the Cowboys, he caught two touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown that set a record for longest in the game’s history. The following year, Stallworth had a 73-yard scoring reception in a win over the Rams. He battled several foot injuries throughout his career, but after missing 12 games in 1983, he amassed 1,395 yards and was named Comeback Player of the Year the following season. After his playing career ended, the Hall of Famer founded a research company and became a part owner of the Steelers in 2009.
2. (tie) Jack Ham, LB (Round 2, Pick 34 in 1971) and Jack Lambert, LB (Round 2, Pick 46 in 1974) – The Steelers 1974 draft haul included four Hall of Famers (Lambert, Swann, Stallworth and Webster) and is most likely the greatest ever amassed by one team. Ham was a teammate of Harris at Penn State, and he earned All-American honors in 1970. Ham spent 12 seasons in Pittsburgh, winning four titles and posting 32 interceptions and 21 fumble recoveries. From 1973-80, he was named to eight straight Pro Bowls and earned six All-Pro selections. The 1980 Hall of Fame inductee has served as a radio analyst and commentator with several outlets since he retired in 1982.
While Ham manned the outside linebacker spot, Lambert patrolled the middle and led the “Steel Curtain” defense. He was the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 at Kent State, where he was a teammate of future Alabama head coach, Nick Saban. Lambert was the 1974 Defensive Rookie of the Year, and made the Pro Bowl in each of the next nine seasons. The six-time All-Pro was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976 after leading the league with eight fumble recoveries. The four-time champion is known for his two missing front teeth , which were knocked out when he was playing basketball in high school. Lambert retired due to recurring turf toe issues in 1984, and has been a volunteer wildlife officer and youth coach in western Pennsylvania since retirement.
1. Terry Bradshaw, QB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1970) – Before he became an actor, broadcaster and occasional masked singer, Bradshaw was the face of one of the NFL’s most storied and successful franchises. The “Blonde Bomber” set several passing records at Louisiana Tech and ranks second in Steelers history with 27,989 yards and 212 touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and earned his only All-Pro honors in his 1978 MVP season, when he threw for 2,915 yards and a league-leading 28 scoring passes. Bradshaw had a 14-5 playoff record, and led Pittsburgh to four titles while winning the game MVP award twice (Super Bowl XIII against the Cowboys and XIV versus the Rams). Bradshaw retired in 1983 after 14 seasons due to lingering elbow issues, and the Steelers didn’t have another consistent quarterback until they drafted Roethlisberger 20 years later.
WORST
10. Whizzer White, RB/QB (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1938) – Byron “Whizzer” White is not a typical draft “bust.” He didn’t fail on the field, nor did he succumb to injury or addiction. Instead, he chose several honorable endeavors, both in the United States and abroad. White earned the “Whizzer” nickname for his speed at Colorado where, in 1937, he was an All-American, finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting and also played on the Buffaloes basketball team that reached the finals in the first National Invitation Tournament. White was a Rhodes Scholar preparing to study law in England when Pittsburgh drafted him fourth overall. He was an All-Pro and led the NFL with 567 rushing yards as a rookie, but left the Pirates after the 1938 season to go to Oxford (the Pirates changed their name to the Steelers in 1940). When World War II broke out in Europe, White came back to the U. S. and entered Yale Law School, but took two years off to play for the Lions. He left football and served as a Navy lieutenant commander and intelligence officer in the Pacific Theatre. After graduating from Yale, White spent 15 years at a law firm in Denver and served as U. S. Deputy Attorney General under Robert Kennedy before he was named a Supreme Court Justice by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. White also wrote the dissenting opinion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion case that was one of the most polarizing events in American judicial history. The College Football Hall of Famer died of pneumonia in 2002 at age 84.
9. Gabe Rivera, NT (Round 1, Pick 21 in 1983) – Rivera was an All-American and the Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Texas Tech in 1982. In an era when most of the star players from the title teams of the 1970s were starting to retire, head coach Chuck Noll chose to rebuild the team’s “Steel Curtain” defense rather than select a quarterback to replace the aging Terry Bradshaw. Instead of taking Pittsburgh star quarterback Dan Marino, the Steelers selected Rivera, who had two sacks in six games before his career came to an end when he was paralyzed in a car accident on his way home from practice. Another member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Rivera passed away in 2018 at age 57.
8. Alonzo Jackson, DE (Round 2, Pick 59 in 2003) – Jackson was a star at Florida State, but he was undersized as a defensive end, so the Steelers moved him to outside linebacker after drafting him at the end of the second round in 2003. Jackson could not adjust to the speed of the pro game, and he played just nine games in two seasons in Pittsburgh, mostly on special teams. He split 2005 between the Eagles and Giants, but was out of football after a season with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders two years later.
7. Mark Malone, QB (Round 1, Pick 28 in 1980) – The Arizona State product was a threat as both a passer and a runner, but he only led the Steelers to a 21-24 record in seven seasons and missed the entire 1982 campaign after suffering an knee injury while lining up as a wide receiver for a play. Malone took the starting spot away from David Woodley and led the Steelers deep into the playoffs in 1984. He threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns, but he also tossed three interceptions in a loss to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. Malone was traded to the Chargers before the 1988 season and played one game the following year with the Jets before retiring. He later was a host, an analyst on several ESPN NFL-related programs and was a play-by-play announcer for the Alliance of American Football in 2019.
6. Jamain Stephens, T (Round 1, Pick 29 in 1996) – After the Steelers lost Super Bowl XXX to the Cowboys, they drafted Stephens, a North Carolina A&T product, to replace right tackle Leon Searcy, who had signed with the Jaguars. Stephens played 19 games in two years with Pittsburgh, but he was never in the best of shape. One of the biggest examples of this was on the first day of training camp in 1999. The visibly overweight Stephens nearly collapsed during sprints and Steelers coach Bill Cowher cut him later that day. He played 19 games in three seasons with the Bengals, but was released when Marvin Lewis became coach in 2002.
5. John Rienstra, G (Round 1, Pick 9 in 1986) – Rienstra, a Temple product, was the highest draft pick the team had during the 1980s. Thanks to concussion issues, he played just 42 games in five seasons in Pittsburgh, and he left the NFL after two years with Cleveland. After his football career, Rienstra became an endurance runner who took an interest in search and rescue missions. In 2016, he helped find the body of Joseph Kelly, a Tennessee native who had been missing for nearly a year after falling and hitting his head in a rocky part of the Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado.
4. Walter Abercrombie, RB (Round 1, Pick 12 in 1982) – Abercrombie finished his Baylor career as the school’s all-time record holder with 3,665 rushing yards. He spent six years in the NFL, with his two best seasons coming in back-to-back campaigns with the Steelers in the mid-1980s (851 yards and seven touchdowns in 1985 and 877 yards and six scores the following year). After one season with the Eagles, Abercrombie retired. He has been the executive director of the Baylor “B” Association, the university’s official Letterwinner organization, since 2004.
3. Troy Edwards, WR (Round 1, Pick 13 in 1999) – Edwards was an All-American and the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s best wide receiver with Louisiana Tech in 1998, but he only had one good season while in a Steelers jersey. He posted career highs with 61 catches, 714 yards, and five touchdowns as a rookie and also had three solid years as a kick and punt returner. However, he totaled 2,404 yards and 11 scores in seven seasons. Edwards left the NFL in 2005 and spent one season with the Arena Football League’s Grand Rapids Rampage two years later.
2. Huey Richardson, LB (Round 1, Pick 15 in 1991) – Richardson was an All-American linebacker at Florida in 1990. The following year, the Steelers faced a dilemma many of us fans do in our fantasy drafts, that three players they targeted were all drafted in the last three spots before theirs. Scrambling to find selection, they chose Richardson, who played just five games, mostly on special teams. Pittsburgh tried him at defensive end, inside and outside linebacker, but he couldn’t adjust, so he was traded to Washington in 1992. He appeared in just four games with the Redskins before they released him. He then played seven more with the Jets, but his brief career was over after that season. Richardson earned a master’s degree in business administration and was hired as a financial analyst by Merrill Lynch. According to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Richardson was supposed to have a meeting in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, but was delayed in the lobby and was able to get out after the first plane struck the building.
1. Tim Worley, RB (Round 1, Pick 7 in 1989) – A sprinter in high school, Worley overcame missing his junior season due to a torn ACL to run for 1,216 yards and 17 touchdowns with Georgia in 1988. He posted career highs with 770 yards and five scores as a rookie with Pittsburgh, but failed to equal that total in his last four years with the Steelers combined. A fumbling problem, plus a yearlong suspension in 1992 for missing two mandatory drug tests, caused Pittsburgh to trade Worley to Chicago. He fell behind Neal Anderson on the Bears depth chart and was sparingly used before retiring after the 1994 season. Worley was arrested in 2008 for speeding, but turned his life around after that incident. He now travels around the country as a motivational speaker and life skills consultant.
All statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ and https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/.
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