Below is the list by position of the first round draft picks the Steelers have made since 1970. Judging by history and current needs of the Steelers, it is a pretty safe assumption that the 2009 first round pick will be a cornerback, offensive lineman or wide receiver.
7 Defensive Backs (1973, 1975, 1978, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2003)
7 Wide Receivers (1971, 1974, 1984, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006)
6 Offensive Linemen (1986, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002)
5 Defensive Linemen (1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2001)
5 Running Backs (1972, 1979, 1982, 1989, 2009)
4 Tight Ends (1976, 1990, 1995, 2005)
3 Quarterbacks (1970, 1980, 2004)
3 Linebackers (1977, 1991, 2007)
| YEAR | NAME (Overall Pick#) |
POSITION | COLLEGE | ||
| 1970 | Terry Bradshaw (1) | QB | Louisiana Tech | ||
| 1971 | Frank Lewis (8) | WR | Grambling | ||
| 1972 | Franco Harris (13) | RB | Penn State | ||
| 1973 | James Thomas (24) | DB | Florida State | ||
| 1974 | Lynn Swann (21) | WR | Southern California | ||
| 1975 | Dave Brown (26) | DB | Michigan | ||
| 1976 | Bennie Cunningham (28) | TE | Clemson | ||
| 1977 | Robin Cole (21) | LB | New Mexico | ||
| 1978 | Ron Johnson (22) | CB | Eastern Michigan | ||
| 1979 | Greg Hawthorne (28) | RB | Baylor | ||
| 1980 | Mark Malone (28) | QB | Arizona State | ||
| 1981 | Keith Gary (17) | DE | Oklahoma | ||
| 1982 | Walter Abercrombie (12) | RB | Baylor | ||
| 1983 | Gabriel Rivera (21) | NT | Texas Tech | ||
| 1984 | Louis Lipps (23) | WR | Southern Mississippi | ||
| 1985 | Darryl Sims (20) | DE | Wisconsin | ||
| 1986 | John Reinstra (9) | G | Temple | ||
| 1987 | Rod Woodson (10) | CB | Purdue | ||
| 1988 | Aaron Jones (18) | DE | Eastern Kentucky | ||
| 1989 (2) | Tim Worley (7) | RB | Georgia | ||
| Tom Ricketts (24) | T | Pittsburgh | |||
| 1990 | Eric Green (21) | TE | Liberty | ||
| 1991 | Huey Richardson (15) | LB | Florida | ||
| 1992 | Leon Searcy (11) | T | Miami | ||
| 1993 | Deon Figures (23) | CB | Colorado | ||
| 1994 | Charles Johnson (17) | WR | Colorado | ||
| 1995 | Mark Bruener (27) | TE | Washington | ||
| 1996 | Jamain Stephens (29) | T | North Carolina A&T | ||
| 1997 | Chad Scott (24) | CB | Maryland | ||
| 1998 | Alan Faneca (26) | G | Louisiana State | ||
| 1999 | Troy Edwards (13) | WR | Louisiana Tech | ||
| 2000 | Plaxico Burress (8) | WR | Michigan State | ||
| 2001 | Casey Hampton (19) | NT | Texas | ||
| 2002 | Kendall Simmons (30) | G | Auburn | ||
| 2003 | Troy Polamalu (16) | S | USC | ||
| 2004 | Ben Roethlisberger (11) | QB | Miami (Ohio) | ||
| 2005 | Heath Miller (30) | TE | Virginia | ||
| 2006 | Santonio Holmes (25) | WR | Ohio State | ||
| 2007 | Lawrence Timmons (15) | LB | Florida State | ||
| 2008 | Rashard Mendenhall (23) | RB | Illinois | ||
