Every Steelers First-Round Draft Pick Since 2000
The Steelers have a lot of needs to address in this year’s NFL Draft as they try and regroup after the retirement of their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
The team has the 20th selection in the first-round of the 2022 Draft and so far, have been heavily linked to top quarterbacks like Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder and Matt Corral.
Who will they pick? We’ll find out on Thursday night, sometime after 8:00 p.m.
So how have the Steelers faired picking in the first-round? Since Colbert became involved in the draft process in 2000, the team has had 21 selections, and a great deal of them have been a success.
Cameron Heyward (2011), T.J. Watt (2017), Terrell Edmunds (2018), Devin Bush Jr. (2019), and Najee Harris (2022) are the five remaining first-rounders still on the Steelers roster. They will be joined by this year’s selection, making six for the 2022 season.
Let’s take a look back at the rest of the Steelers picks since the 2000 season.
2000 Draft
With the highest pick that Kevin Colbert and the Steelers have had to work with since 1989, the Steelers opted to go wide receiver in the first round, taking Plaxico Burress the 8th overall. Burress would play 11 years in the league, five with the Steelers before heading to the New York Giants. Burress had a good career, but had his biggest success with the Giants. Most notable was his Super Bowl 42 clinching touchdown catch with 35 seconds left in the game as the Giants stunned the undefeated Patriots.
2001 Draft
With the 19th pick, the Steelers grabbed “big snack” nose tackle Casey Hampton from Texas. Hampton was a starter practically from day one and would play 11 years in the league, making five Pro Bowls and helping the team win two Super Bowls.
2002 Draft
The Steelers had to wait until the 30th pick after a great regular season in 2001. They took Auburn guard Kendall Simmons, who started for the team for five years but never became a star.
2003 Draft
Picking 16th, the Steelers struck gold with Troy Polamalu. Not much more needs to be said about this pick.
2004 Draft
Going back-to-back Hall of Famers is why the Steelers have been as successful as they’ve been. Although he’s not in the Hall yet (because he’s still on the roster) the selection of Ben Roethlisberger at number 11 will forever be one of the best picks in franchise history.
2005 Draft
After a loss to the Patriots in the AFC Title Game, the Steelers had the 30th pick. The used that on Virginia tight end Heath Miller. The franchise fan favorite would start 15 games his rookie year, which also coincided with a Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
2006 Draft
After winning their first Super Bowl under former head coach Bill Cowher, the Steelers used their 25th pick on a future Super Bowl hero, wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
2007 Draft
The first draft for Mike Tomlin was all about defense and the team took Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons in the first round. Timmons would have a very good 10 year career with the Steelers, racking up nearly 1000 tackles, 35.5 sacks and 12 interceptions.
2008 Draft
The 2008 Draft saw the Steelers do something they hadn’t done since the ill-fated 1989 NFL Draft, pick a running back in the first round. Rashard Mendenhall became just the fifth running back selected by the Steelers in the first round, joining Franco Harris, Greg Hawthorne, Walter Abercrombie and Tim Worley. Mendenhall had a few good years with the Steelers, but was a lot closer to Worley, Abercrombie and Hawthorne than the legendary Franco Harris. A cautionary tale for the Steelers this year?
2009 Draft
The Steelers won their second Super Bowl of the decade but did not enjoy the same level of success with their subsequent draft pick. Defensive end Evander Hood struggled early with the team before becoming a starter in year two. Hood would play five years in total with the club before leaving for Jacksonville in 2014.
2010 Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the first of three consecutive home run picks for the Steelers. With the 18th pick, the team grabbed Florida center Maurkice Pouncey. Pouncey would start from day one and helped the team reach the Super Bowl after the 2010 season.
2011 Draft
Still contributing to the team at a high level, fan-favorite Cameron Heyward was the pick at number 31. A two-time First-Team All-Pro, Heyward has manned the defensive line for the Steelers since becoming the full-time starter in 2013. Despite a slow start to his career, Heyward has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL over the past four years, being named All-Pro twice and making four straight Pro Bowls.
2012 Draft
The Steelers took a guard with their first round pick, snatching up Stanford’s David DeCastro at No. 24. DeCastro made six consecutive Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2015 and 2017.
2013 Draft
Jarvis Jones was the Steelers first round pick in 2013. One of the biggest busts of the Tomlin/Colbert era. Nobody bats 1.000.
2014 Draft
After taking an outside linebacker in 2013, the Steelers looked to the inside and took Ohio State’s Ryan Shazier. Shazier looked like he was on his way to superstardom before a tragic injury ended his career.
2015 Draft
It took a while, but Bud Dupree, the Steelers 1st round pick from Kentucky, finally established himself as a premier pass-rusher in the league, teaming with T.J. Watt to terrorize quarterbacks in 2019 and 2020. Unfortunately his production (19.5 sacks over the last two years) also meant that he priced himself out of Pittsburgh.
2016 Draft
If Jones isn’t the biggest bust in recent Steelers draft history, it’s 2016 pick Artie Burns. The Miami cornerback seemed on his way to regular starter but was unable to stay on the field after a two year run. Burns hasn’t seen action in an NFL game since 2019.
2017 Draft
After a bust (Jones), a tragedy (Shazier), and a late bloomer (Dupree) the Steelers needed to replenish their linebacker corps. Enter Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt. Despite his brother terrorizing quarterbacks and winning three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards, the rest of the NFL decided to pass up on the Watt bloodlines, allowing the Steelers to snatch up T.J. at number 30. Three All-Pro selections later, it looks like the Steelers made the right choice. TJ finally broke through, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021. He’ll look to continue moving up the all-time lists in 2022.
2018 Draft
The jury is still out on Steelers 2018 1st round pick Terrell Edmunds. He’s never been a fan favorite, but Edmunds has started nearly every game since being drafted. His continued growth this season will be key in his eventual future with the team. The Steelers recently extended him for another year.
2019 Draft
Not content to wait for a linebacker to fall to them, the Steelers moved up in the draft to pick Devin Bush Jr. out of Michigan. Bush had a very mixed 2021 trying to come back from an injury and his future with the team isn’t set in stone.
2020 Draft
The Steelers went against the grain by trading their first round pick to the Miami Dolphins for young superstar safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. So far so good.
2021 Draft
The Steelers went for a running back for the first time in over a decade. Najee Harris rewarded the team’s confidence by piling up 1,200 yards on the ground and adding 467 through the air to go along with 10 touchdowns. Najee also was selected to the Pro Bowl.
The Recap
Since Kevin Colbert joined the team, the Steelers have picked a defensive player 12 times with the first pick. The team had picked defense in each of the last seven years leading up to 2021, when they broke that streak with the selection of Najee Harris. Five of the seven picks were linebackers.
The Steelers have picked offensive skill positions in only five instances and have only used first-round draft capital on two since 2008 (Rashard Mendenhall and Najee Harris).
The Steelers haven’t drafted a tackle in the first-round since Jamain Stephens in 1996.
Half of the team’s first-round selections have made at least one Pro Bowl and five were selected as First-Team All-Pro.
Position breakdown
QB: 1
WR: 2
RB: 2
TE: 1
C: 1
T: 0
G: 2
LB: 6
DE: 2
NT: 1
CB: 1
S: 2
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