One more series to get us through the summer before training camp begins in almost exactly a month. Inspired by an NFL Films top ten (why did they stop making them?), we’re counting down the ten greatest draft classes in Pittsburgh Steelers’ history.
The focus will be solely on actual drafted players and only what they did in Pittsburgh, not whatever success they may have had with another team. In our finale, here’s the top two classes in team history.
#2 – 1970 Draft Class (9 Pro Bowls, 3 All-Pro Teams, 2 Hall of Famers)
Notable Selections
QB Terry Bradshaw (1st Round)
WR Ron Shanklin (2nd Round)
CB Mel Blount (3rd Round)
WR Dave Smith (8th Round)
From an accolades standpoint, the resume doesn’t seem quite deserving for the second spot. Nine Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams? That’s fewer than the 2010 class, #7 on our list. Then, of course, you see the two gold jackets. And it feels insane that Bradshaw made only three Pro Bowls and Blount only five with two All-Pro teams.
While this class may lack some of the depth and well-roundedness of others, it produced a pair of players who would wind up in Canton. Bradshaw was the centerpiece the offense needed. After working through bumps early in his career, he went from Blonde Bust to Blonde Bomber who played a central role in the team’s two latter Super Bowls when Pittsburgh opened up its passing game. His four rings as a starting QB may never be repeated by another Steeler.
Blount was a steal of steals in the third round, another nod to Bill Nunn’s insight. Big, tall, and physical, Blount remains the Steelers’ all-time interception leader with 57. Since the Steel Curtain ended, no other player has more than 38. And everyone knows the “Mel Blount” rule that created the five-yard chuck to give receivers more freedom. Blount still dominated anyway.
While not Canton-bound, Shanklin is an underrated receiver in team history. Making plays years before Lynn Swann and John Stallworth arrived, he was the team’s leading receiver in 1972 and 1973. And in ’74, the team’s first Super Bowl winner, Shanklin had more receptions and yards than either Swann or Stallworth, though he was quiet during the team’s playoff run. Still, he was a downfield threat and averaged a league-best 23.7 yards in 1973 before a knee injury ruined his career.
Smith is even less known but finished second behind Shanklin in receiving as a rookie and led the team in yards in 1971 while also finding the end zone five teams. A solid selection for an 8th rounder.
#1 – 1974 Draft Class (24 Pro Bowls, 13 All-Pros, 4 Hall of Famers)
Notable Selections
WR Lynn Swann (1st Round)
LB Jack Lambert (2nd Round)
WR John Stallworth (4th Round)
C Mike Webster (5th Round)
You knew which class was ending up in the top spot. There’s plenty of Steelers’ history up for debate. This isn’t one of them. To get one Hall of Famer in a draft class is amazing. Getting two is almost unheard of, 1970 is the only other Steelers’ class that can boast that. The 1974 haul doubled that with four of them, including the team’s first three picks.
It’s difficult to put into words how good this class was. To get Swann in the first round and then Stallworth in the fourth, making them one of the greatest wide receiver pairings in history. Drafting Lambert, a lanky linebacker from a smaller school who became among the fiercest players to ever play the game. And overlooking Webster’s lack of ideal size and focusing on his technique and toughness, a top lineman in his day and in league history. All starters and core members of the Steelers’ dynasty, all taken in one class. A couple of picks changed the fortunes of franchise history.
Even DB Jimmy Allen, the lone non-Hall of Famer sandwiched between these picks, was a pretty good player, intercepting five passes in 1977 before being traded to Detroit in 1978. And while we’re only focused on picks, not UDFAs, you have to mention Donnie Shell, one of the best undrafted free agents in history.
If there is any blemish, and it’s a microscopic one, there is no late-round gem here in terms of an actual pick, though Shell makes up for it. But four Hall of Famers will quickly make you forget that. The 1974 class is the greatest draft in Steelers’ history, in NFL history, and it’ll never be topped again.
Top Ten Steelers’ Draft Classes
#10 – 2017 Class (Watt, Smith-Schuster, Sutton, Conner)
#9 – 1950 Class (Stautner, Chandnois, Hughes, Rogel)
#8 – 2003 Class (Polamalu, Taylor)
#7 – 2010 Class (Pouncey, Sanders, Brown)
#6 – 1987 Class (Woodson, Everett, Nickerson, Lloyd, Hoge)
#5 – 1998 Class (Faneca, Ward, Townsend, Fuamatu-Ma’afala)
#4 – 1969 Class (Greene, Kolb, Greenwood)
#3 – 1971 Class (Lewis, Ham, Mullins, White, Brown, Holmes, Wagner)
