Steelers Depot All-Time Draft: Part One

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a historic franchise with an endless number of historically good players. Pit them against any other team’s all-time roster, and you’re likely to take Pittsburgh’s squad each time. But what if the Steelers legends were battling each other? What if a group of fans looking to pass the time in an otherwise boring offseason drafted their all-time Steelers squads to see whose looked best? That’s how our Steelers all-time draft was born.

That’s what Dave Bryan, Scott Brown, Joe Clark, Josh Carney, Ross McCorkle, and myself did earlier this week. Opened up a spreadsheet, randomly generated a draft order, and spent 26 rounds building an entire starting roster. From quarterback to safety to returner and, yes, long snapper, we thought this would be a fun way to review team history and create a little competition along with it. The goal was simply to make the best roster possible.

In Part One of this exercise, we’ll recap the first half of the draft, Rounds 1 through 13, to see in which order the biggest names came off the board. Tomorrow, we’ll post the rest of the draft, Rounds 14 through 26. In Part Three, we’ll post the final teams and make the case for why ours is better than the other five.

Quickly, for clarity’s sake. The drafted Steeler is only considered for his time in Pittsburgh (i.e. drafting QB Michael Vick doesn’t take into consideration the Falcons’ version). And each player could only slot into one spot, meaning you couldn’t place Rod Woodson in the cornerback and returner roles. Each person also had his choice of building a 3-4 or 4-3 defense. On offense, there was a third “Flex” spot for a third wide receiver, second tight end, or fullback.

With each round, I’ll offer a bit of commentary below.

Round One

No question, the first two picks had to be Roethlisberger and Bradshaw. The only question was the order. Woodson at third overall caught me by slight surprise but it’s a good pick. It’s fun to see a current-day player like T.J. Watt crack the top five.

Round Two

Going to Faneca at No. 7 may feel like a slight stretch, but the drop-off between him and the next great Steelers guard is fairly steep. There are tons of great value picks here, including Scott getting Polamalu at No. 8 and Dave snagging Mike Webster at No. 11. Frankly, all these picks were excellent.

Round Three

The first receiver off the board in Antonio Brown at No. 14. while there’s a run on those great Steelers centers, Joe taking Dirt Dawson and Scott grabbing Maurkice Pouncey. Also, back-to-back linebackers, with Ross choosing James Harrison and Josh, in perhaps a mild surprise, taking Kevin Greene. His Steelers stint was short but excellent.

Round Four

I was happy to land Swann and Stallworth with my back-to-back picks. Ward quickly went next to Josh, creating a drop-off in quality at receiver with the top four gone. Ross was the first to take a tight end and obviously went with Heath Miller, while Dave was the first to go running back, choosing Jerome Bettis over Franco Harris.

Round Five

Beefing up the trenches in this round with Dave taking Hampton, Ross drafting DeCastro, and Josh stealing Cam Heyward away from me. Scott takes Bobby Layne in the top 30, knowing after him, quarterback gets thin. It’s not top value, but it’s a smart strategy.

Round Six

Again, I double-dip, building my roster like an ark with a pair of outside linebackers. Josh and Ross quickly scoop up their quarterbacks, leaving only myself without one. Not a fun spot to be in. Joe gets tremendous value with Greenwood at No. 36.

Round Seven

Couple modern-day Steelers with Dave drafting Fitzpatrick and Ross taking Le’Veon Bell. Josh getting Lake at No. 40 is an excellent pick. For Scott, Brown will be used as a tackle, not a tight end.

Round Eight

Josh is loading up with a strong safety pair of Lake and Wagner. Dave is focusing on defense, taking one in four straight rounds. The only offensive player this round is the underrated Jeff Hartings, though he’s not quite in the elite tier of great Steelers centers.

Round Nine

Stephon Tuitt went a little earlier than I expected, but he was a force in his brief prime. Josh takes a top tackle in Jon Kolb while Scott snags Moon Mullins to play guard. I’m happy getting Nickel at No. 54 and the third tight end off the board.

Round 10

Scott goes old-school with a fun pick in “Bullet” Bill Dudley. And Joe again finds good value at No. 60 with Smith, who would’ve had an even more successful career had it not been for back injuries.

Round 11

Joe shores up his tackles by starting the round with Ilkin to pair opposite Smith. For Dave, Timmons slides next to Levon Kirkland to form his ILB duo. Starks goes high, but the Steelers aren’t known for great tackles. Holmes feels like a bit of a reach while White is excellent value this late.

Round 12

I go with a modern-era pick in Ryan Shazier, choosing him over Chad Brown. Bleier becomes Ross’ fullback, while Townsend is one of the most underrated Steelers in team history.

Round 13

Joe starts off by again getting strong value in Ernie Holmes. John Jackson is a strong pick by Ross. Ditto with Scott selecting Darren Perry at No. 77. Perry was on my radar, but I’m happy to snag Thigpen one pick later.

Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow, where we’ll show you the rest of our draft picks. And hold off on your evaluations until you see all the selections and our final teams. Each of us will make the case for why our team is the strongest.