The Pittsburgh Steelers have nailed a lot of draft picks over the past 25 years. It’s why they have the second-most wins in the NFL since 2000, trailing only the New England Patriots. They’ve consistently found early-round studs and late-round gems, particularly on defense. Bleacher Report released a ranking of the 25 best draft picks over the past 25 years, and they chose three Steelers picks: Troy Polamalu (2003), Antonio Brown (2010) and T.J. Watt (2017).
Watt was ranked 21 on the list.
“Like Jefferson and Purdy, there’s still room for the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year to climb this list as a late first-rounder, but Watt is already a future Hall of Famer with four first-team All-Pro nods,” wrote Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon. “Seven edge defenders went off the board before Watt did.”
Watt has been a top five defensive player in the league for the majority of his eight-year career. He’s led the NFL in sacks three times, including the 2021 season in which he tied Michael Strahan’s single-season record with 22.5 sacks. Watt’s a tenacious bully on the outside, clubbing 350-pound tackles with one arm and swiping them with the other. He’s got an array of moves to get to the quarterback, and he’s been the best in the league at forcing fumbles, whether it’s a strip sack on a quarterback or a “peanut punch” on a running back.
The big question looming over the Steelers this offseason is Watt’s contract. The former 30th pick in the draft will be a Hall of Famer someday, and he deserves to get paid like it.
Polamalu was one spot ahead of Watt at 20.
“The Hall of Famer was passed on 15 times in ’03 before making eight Pro Bowls,” wrote Gagnon. “He was the league’s defensive player of the year in 2010.”
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect career from a first-round pick than Troy Polamalu. He was an outstanding, high-character player for a decade, leading one of the greatest defensive units in NFL history. He was an All-Pro player on two Super Bowl-winning teams (’05 and ’08), and he won the Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2010-11 season, when a dominant Steelers defense led the team to another Super Bowl appearance.
Taken at pick 16, Polamalu ended up being far and away the best first-rounder in the 2003 draft. While younger fans might just remember him as the Head and Shoulders commercial guy with extravagant hair, we remember him for his signature leaps over the offensive line, chin strap snapping hits over the middle, and ridiculous interceptions like this one.
And sixth-round draft pick Antonio Brown was ranked as the 13th best pick of the 21st century.
“The key here is round six,” wrote Gagnon. “A hilarious 21 receivers were selected before Pittsburgh finally took Brown in 2010, and he wound up on the NFL 2010’s All-Decade Team thanks to seven Pro Bowl nods.”
Brown tarnished his legacy with his dramatic spiral following his departure from the Steelers. He’s had dozens of off-the-field issues, fines and is currently wanted for an attempted murder charge.
But my goodness, he was a once-in-a-lifetime talent at wide receiver. Brown had five or so seasons where he was unquestionably the best pass-catcher in the league. He caught everything that Big Ben Roethlisberger threw his way, whether he had to do the “Tony-toe-tap” along the sidelines, flip his hips to make a back shoulder catch, or snag throws that were off target with one hand.
He’s one of the greatest sixth-round picks in NFL history and would firmly be a Hall of Famer if not for his wild antics and rapid departure from the league.
These three players — Polamalu, Brown and Watt — were defining players over the past 25 years. Let’s hope that Omar Khan and the Steelers find plenty more draft gems in the next 25.
