Steelers Depot All-Time Draft: Part Two

Yesterday, we debuted the first part of our Steelers Depot All-Time Draft. Six of us — Dave Bryan, Josh Carney, Ross McCorkle, Scott Brown, Joe Clark and myself — assembling the best 26-man roster possible. Today is Part Two of the series, showing the rest of the draft picks. We’ll put together the full squads for a Monday post where you can tell us who is the best GM.

Quick refresher on the rules. Drafting 26 players, including punters, kickers, returners, and yes, even long snappers. They’re people, too. Players can only be used in one slot, not multiple positions. And you only get the player for their Steelers career. So Len Dawson is only the meager Pittsburgh version, not the Hall of Famer he came to be in Kansas City.

Here are rounds 14-26 with my quick recaps and commentary about each round below.

Round 14

Nice value selection by Josh in getting Brown here. Round focused on linemen and linebackers as the names begin to thin out in terms of all-time greats. Strategy becomes key here.

ROUND 15

Kicker alert! Dave grabs Boswell in a shrewd move. Josh getting Sam Davis is a rock-solid pick while this round is largely dedicated to loading up on front fives.

ROUND 16

Scott goes old-school with Dial while Josh takes a leap on Bryant. Four receivers in a row as Wallace and Pickens round things out. The Lee Flowers pick here comes as a surprise.

ROUND 17

Dave with a strong pick in von Oelhoffen while Josh does well to secure Willie Parker as his lead running back. Varrichione is a forgotten name in history but a five-time Pro Bowler, four as a Steeler.

ROUND 18

I’m kicking myself a little for taking Dunn over Joel Steed, but they have similar resumes. Tight ends begin to come off the board in Cunningham and Bruener. Gary and Van Dyke are good picks to round things out.

ROUND 19

Worilds feels really high here but trying to find EDGE rushers at this point has become tough. Ditto with Willie Colon as each team tries to round out their roster. Scott takes Anderson, which compels me to take Gerela. Arguably a knee-jerk move on my part.

Round 20

Josh takes the first returner off the board in Randle El, a solid choice in the kick and punt return game. Dave takes the first punter in Bobby Joe Green, still the team record-holder for highest single-season gross. Jansante is another pre-Noll Scott Brown special. For me, the cupboard was bare at DE. Seals wasn’t in Pittsburgh for long but had back-to-back 7.5-plus sack seasons.

Round 21

I like the value Joe got with Smith-Schuster, whose peaks were impressive. Dave broke my heart with snatching Chandnois, still one of the greatest returners in history, a couple picks ahead of me. Back-to-back Williams selections; I like Willie better than Vince here.

Round 22

Shipkey was a three-time Pro Bowler and standout player in his day. Dave is all over the specialists, snagging the top snapper in Warren. Joe makes a good pick in Bell, who looked elite before injuries derailed his career.

Round 23

Jefferson was a quality receiver who didn’t end up fitting with Chuck Noll. Henry Johnson was the first 1,000-yard rusher in Steelers history and the first to rush for 200 yards in a game. Otherwise, the group starts filling out their specialists before names get thin.

Round 24

Gammon was the Steelers’ first true long snapper, playing in the 1980s. McGee is a good player but awkward fit in Josh’s system while Clack is a fine pick from Dave. And shout-out to Ross for going with the easily forgotten Martha, who picked off 15 passes in six years with the team.

Round 25

Five of the six picks here are specialists. Johnson is a nice pull by Josh, who led the league in field goals in 1995. Walden is Pittsburgh’s longest-tenured punter and won two rings with the team. Brady led the league in average in back-to-back years before a torn Achilles ended his career three years in.

Round 26

The final round, each team taking the one spot they hadn’t addressed. That leaves me with the runt of the litter at quarterback. Finks threw a ton of interceptions but made a Pro Bowl and led the league in touchdown passes one season. Josh was left in the cold without a center but saved face with Cherundolo, a two-time Pro Bowler before World War II. Ross didn’t have many other options at long snapper so he gets a literal furniture mover. Freiermuth is Joe’s tight end, which is a pretty decent pick the more I think about – where would he rank among the top tight ends in team history? Arguably top five already.

With that, the draft ended. Again, we’ll post our entire teams for you to judge on Monday. To wrap up, here are some notable players who didn’t get drafted.

S Chris Hope – I nearly took Hope over Everett all the way at pick No. 91. While his time as a Steelers starter was short, he was a good player who paired well with Troy Polamalu before Ryan Clark was signed in free agency. He started 32 games and picked off four passes across 2004-2005. He also caught an 81-yard touchdown pass off a fake punt.

NT Joel Steed – An underrated man in the middle, Steed started 103 games for Pittsburgh from 1992-1999. He made the Pro Bowl in 1997 as the Steelers finished with football’s top run defense. Even though we all built 3-4 squads, Steed remained on the board the whole time.

LBs Robin Cole and Mike Merriweather – Easily the two biggest snubs of the list. Cole started 127 games across 11 years for Pittsburgh, making the Pro Bowl in 1984. He was also the team’s first-round pick in 1977 and won two Super Bowls as part of the 70s dynasty. Merriweather was named to three Pro Bowls and posted a 15-sack season in 1984, joining Cole in the Pro Bowl. Perhaps his messy contract dispute that led to his departure left a sour note in his draft stock.

S Clendon Thomas – He started over 70 games for the Steelers in the 60s, making a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team in 1963 after picking off eight passes. He seemed to bounce around positions, perhaps making it tough on us to slot him, and the Steelers do generally have a solid history of safeties.

OT Justin Strzelczyk and OT Marcus Gilbert – It’s no secret Pittsburgh lacks the rich history at offensive tackle they enjoy at center, making these two names draft possibilities. Strzelczyk played in 133 games for the team, starting 75 of them, and was on the roster throughout nearly all of the 90s. Gilbert made 87 starts at right tackle for Pittsburgh, becoming a good but never great tackle in the league.

FBs Dan Kreider, John L. Williams, Tim Lester – We built some bruising power running teams, but fullbacks weren’t really anywhere to be found. Kreider and Lester were the Bus Drivers for Jerome Bettis while Williams served as more of an H-back popular in the 1980s and early 90s. None were selected.

DE John Baker – Easy to forget after playing on middling 1960s teams, Baker posted back-to-back 10 sack seasons in 1964 and 1965. He spent five years in Pittsburgh, finishing with 32 sacks. He’s also the man responsible for the hit on Y.A. Tittle that led to one of the most iconic photos in football history.