A yearly exercise since former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert stepped down from his post in May 2022, we’re ranking all 183 draft picks he made throughout his long tenure with the team. While there aren’t any new players to add to this year’s list, the group still shifts up and down based on the performance of active players.
A reminder. This list is solely based off results. The rankings won’t consist and consider the “why” a player thrived or failed with the team, and it’s only based off their Steelers career. This is a list about the Steelers’ best picks and the impact they had in Pittsburgh, not somewhere else. This is also a list of relativity. Meaning a seventh-round pick who failed isn’t as impactful as a first rounder who did.
If you want to revisit explanations for each player on this list, you can search through the archives. I provide player-by-player recaps for all 183 draft picks. Today, we’ll update and revisit the list with changes for the 2024 version.
#183. Senquez Golson – Rd. 2
#182. Alonzo Jackson – Rd. 2
#181. Fred Gibson – Rd. 4
#180. Danny Farmer – Rd. 4
#179. Kraig Urbik – Rd. 3
#178. Bruce Davis – Rd. 3
#177. Artie Burns – Rd. 1
#176. Orien Harris – Rd. 4
#175. Alameda Ta’amu – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#174. Dri Archer – Rd. 3
#173. Limas Sweed – Rd. 2
#172. Thaddeus Gibson – Rd. 4
#171. Nathaniel Adibi – Rd. 5
#170. Willie Reid – Rd. 3
#169. Kendrick Green – Rd. 3
#168. Ricardo Colclough – Rd. 2
#167. Doran Grant – Rd. 4
#166. Tony Hills – Rd. 4
#165. Ryan McBean – Rd. 4
#164. Mathias Nkwenti – Rd. 4
#163. Buddy Johnson – Rd. 4
#162. Jarvis Jones – Rd. 1
#161. Terry Hawthorne – Rd. 5
#160. Cameron Stephenson – Rd. 5
#159. Shaq Richardson – Rd. 5
#158. Charles Davis – Rd. 5
#157. Omar Jacobs – Rd. 5
#156. Wesley Johnson – Rd. 5
#155. Mike Adams – Rd. 2
#154. Joe Burnett – Rd. 4
#153. Sammie Coates – Rd. 3
#152. Devin Bush – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
#151. Colin Holba – Rd. 6
#150. Sutton Smith – Rd. 6
#149. Bo Lacy – Rd. 6
#148. Roger Knight – Rd. 6
#147. Mike Humpal – Rd. 6
#146. Jordan Zumwalt – Rd. 6
#145. Keith Williams – Rd. 6
#144. Drew Caylor – Rd. 6
#143. Marvin Philip – Rd. 6
#142. Jason Gavadza – Rd. 6
#141. Ra’Shon Harris – Rd. 6
#140. Quincy Roche – Rd. 6
#139. Travis Feeney – Rd. 6
#138. Kenny Pickett – Rd. 1
#137. Chris Scott – Rd. 5
#136. Brian St. Pierre – Rd. 5
#135. Shamarko Thomas – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#134. Chris Rainey – Rd. 5
#133. Anthony Smith – Rd. 3
#132. Frank Summers – Rd. 5
#131. Jerald Hawkins – Rd. 4
#130. Gerod Holliman – Rd. 7
#129. Chris Oladokun – Rd. 7
#128. Eric Taylor – Rd. 7
#127. Lavar Glover – Rd. 7
#126. Chris Taylor – Rd. 7
#125. Nick Williams – Rd. 7
#124. A.Q. Shipley – Rd. 7
#123. Shaun Nua – Rd. 7
#122. Rob Blanchflower – Rd. 7
#121. Toney Clemons – Rd. 7
#120. Cedric Humes – Rd. 7
#119. Doug Worthington – Rd. 7
#118. J.T. Wall – Rd. 7
#117. Josh Frazier – Rd. 7
#116. Terence Frederick – Rd. 7
#115. Keion Adams – Rd. 7
#114. Derwin Gray – Rd. 7
#113. Crezdon Butler – Rd. 5
#112. Anthony McFarland Jr. – Rd. 4
#111. Noah Herron – Rd. 7
#110. Tee Martin – Rd. 5
#109. Brian Allen – Rd. 5
#108. Chris Combs – Rd. 6
#107. Dallas Baker – Rd. 7
#106. DeMarvin Leal – Rd. 3
#105. Antoine Brooks Jr. – Rd. 5
#104. Matt Kranchick – Rd. 6
#103. Curtis Brown – Rd. 3
#102. Chris Carter – Rd. 5
#101. Rian Wallace – Rd. 5
#100. Justin Brown – Rd. 6
#99. Kendrick Clancy – Rd. 3
#98. Demarcus Ayers – Rd. 7
#97. Baron Batch – Rd. 7
#96. Carlos Davis – Rd. 7
#95. Isaiah Buggs – Rd .6
#94. Josh Dobbs – Rd. 4
#93. David Paulson – Rd. 7
#92. Pressley Harvin III – Rd. 7
#91. Calvin Austin III – Rd. 4
#90. Sean Spence – Rd. 3
#89. L.T. Walton – Rd. 6
#88. Dennis Dixon – Rd. 5
#87. Mark Robinson – Rd. 7
#86. Hank Poteat – Rd. 3
#85. Daniel McCullers – Rd. 6
#84. Justin Layne – Rd. 3
#83. Ulysees Gilbert III – Rd. 6
#82. Chukky Okobi – Rd. 5
#81. Stevenson Sylvester – Rd. 5
#80. Isaiahh Loudermilk – Rd. 5 (Trade Up)
#79. Tre Norwood – Rd. 7
#78. Lee Mays – Rd. 6
#77. Marcus Allen – Rd. 5
#76. Ryan Mundy – Rd. 6
#75. Zach Gentry – Rd. 5
#74. Connor Heyward – Rd. 6
#73. Rodney Bailey – Rd. 6
#72. James Washington – Rd. 2
#71. Ziggy Hood – Rd. 1
#70. Kevin Dotson – Rd. 3
#69. Jonathan Dwyer – Rd. 6
#68. Jaylen Samuels – Rd. 5
#67. Landry Jones – Rd. 4
#66. Benny Snell Jr. – Rd. 4
#65. Mason Rudolph – Rd. 3 (Trade Up)
#64. Verron Haynes – Rd. 5
#63. Daniel Sepulevda – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#62. David Johnson – Rd. 7
#61. Chase Claypool – Rd. 2
#60. Trai Essex – Rd. 3
#59. Anthony Chickillo – Rd. 6
#58. Sean Davis – Rd. 2
#57. Cortez Allen – Rd. 4
#56. Markus Wheaton – Rd. 3
#55. Dan Moore Jr. – Rd. 4
#54. Keenan Lewis – Rd. 3
#53. Jesse James – Rd. 5
#52. Jason Worilds – Rd. 2
#51. Tyler Matakevich – Rd. 7
#50. Emmanuel Sanders – Rd. 3
#49. Rashard Mendenhall – Rd. 1
#48. Chris Kemoeatu – Rd. 6
#47. Matt Spaeth – Rd. 3
#46. Terrell Edmunds – Rd. 1
#45. Chukwuma Okorafor – Rd. 3
#44. Kendrell Bell – Rd. 2
#43. Martavis Bryant – Rd. 4
#42. Willie Colon – Rd. 4
#41. James Conner – Rd. 3
#40. George Pickens – Rd. 2
#39. Chris Hope – Rd. 3
#38. Bryant McFadden – Rd. 2
#37. Diontae Johnson – Rd. 3
#36. Najee Harris – Rd. 1
#35. Kelvin Beachum – Rd. 7
#34. Pat Freiermuth – Rd. 2
#33. Kendall Simmons – Rd. 1
#32. Bud Dupree – Rd. 1
#31. Cameron Sutton – Rd. 3
#30. Plaxico Burress – Rd. 1
#29. JuJu Smith-Schuster – Rd. 2
#28. Marcus Gilbert – Rd. 2
#27. Clark Haggans – Rd. 5
#26. Vince Williams – Rd. 6
#25. William Gay – Rd. 5
#24. Alex Highsmith – Rd. 3
#23. Ryan Shazier – Rd. 1
#22. Javon Hargrave – Rd. 3
#21. Mike Wallace – Rd. 3
#20. Antwaan Randle El – Rd. 2
#19. Max Starks – Rd. 3
#18. Larry Foote – Rd. 4
#17. Stephon Tuitt – Rd. 2
#16. Marvel Smith – Rd. 2
#15. Brett Keisel – Rd. 7
#14. LaMarr Woodley – Rd. 2
#13. Santonio Holmes – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
#12. Le’Veon Bell – Rd. 2
#11. Lawrence Timmons – Rd. 1
#10. Ike Taylor – Rd. 4
#9. David DeCastro – Rd. 1
#8. Casey Hampton – Rd. 1 (Trade Down)
#7. Heath Miller – Rd. 1
#6. Maurkice Pouncey – Rd. 1
#5. Cam Heyward – Rd. 1
#4. Antonio Brown – Rd. 6
#3. T.J. Watt – Rd. 1
#2. Ben Roethlisberger – Rd. 1
#1. Troy Polamalu – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
Analysis
Reminder the further we go along with these yearly check-ins, the less movement there will be. Eventually, the group will be so settled in there will no longer be yearly changes or very minor ones at most. This year’s list largely reflects the 2023 version.
The updated rankings and year-by-year change for Colbert’s final 2022 draft class and their current rankings. The jury is out on some, the book closed on others.
#138. Kenny Pickett (Minus-87 Spots)
#129. Chris Oladokun (No Change)
#106. DeMarvin Leal (Minus-22 Spots)
#91. Calvin Austin III (Plus-62 Spots)
#87. Mark Robinson (Plus-Four Spots)
#74. Connor Heyward (Plus-Four Spots)
#40. George Pickens (Plus-Six Spots)
Plenty of change for the second-year guys (unless you’re Oladokun). Following a tough sophomore season, the Steelers pulled the plug on Pickett after he requested a trade. It’s one of the shortest stints for a first-round quarterback in franchise history. Assigning blame for who failed Pickett could be argued for days. Remember, we’re just focused on the end result in this list, not the why.
Leal is in bust territory after a poor sophomore season. Austin moves up a ton largely for simply getting on the field, and his long touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders helps. More minor improvements from Robinson, Heyward, and Pickens. Pickens could take a big jump with a strong 2024 season.
The top 10 remains unchanged. T.J. Watt remains the highest-rated active player on the list, still occupying the No. 3 spot. Cam Heyward remains at No. 5.
Here are the biggest risers and fallers on this year’s list.
Bigger Risers
WR Calvin Austin III – No. 153 to No. 91 (62 Spots Upward)
QB Mason Rudolph – No. 79 to No. 65 (14 Spots Upward)
WR George Pickens – No. 46 to No. 40 (Six Spots Upward)
OT Dan Moore Jr. – No. 61 to No. 55 (Six Spots Upward)
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk – No. 86 to No. 80 (Six Spots Upward)
OLB Alex Highsmith – No. 29 to No. 24 (Five Spots Upward)
Highsmith is the highest-rated mover on this year’s list, up five spots after a solid though not spectacular 2023 season. Moore has slowly been moving up the ranks. While he’s not everyone’s favorite left tackle, his starting experience at a premium position is notable for a mid-round selection. His next start will be his 50th, though he’ll have to fight this summer to achieve that goal by Week 1. In the Colbert era, only 35 of his 183 selections, 19 percent, went on to start at least 50 games for the Steelers.
Rudolph made a late push with his solid play to lead Pittsburgh into the playoffs to end 2023. Still, his career was mostly spent as a backup and not the franchise quarterback the Steelers once thought and hoped they were getting. Loudermilk being active and playing slowly moves him up.
Biggest Fallers
QB Kenny Pickett – No. 51 to No. 138 (87 Spots Downward)
DL DeMarvin Leal – No. 84 to No. 106 (22 Spots Downward)
P Pressley Harvin III – No. 77 to No. 92 (15 Spots Downward)
C Kendrick Green – No. 162 to No. 169 (Seven Spots Downward)
RB Anthony McFarland Jr. – No. 107 to No. 112 (Five Spots Downward)
S Tre Norwood – No. 74 to No. 79 (Five Spots Downward)
Pickett is obviously the biggest faller with Leal in second place for reasons explained above. Harvin falls after another poor year that finally got him shown the door. Green was traded at cutdowns, ending the disaster of his career. McFarland and Norwood each fall five spots. Injuries continued to hamper McFarland’s career while Norwood got hurt last summer and was cut, ending his Steelers career.
We’ll return with a revised list in 2025.
