Find someone who looks at you the way Kevin Colbert looked at seventh round picks. That’s the takeaway from The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, who spoke to Colbert’s affinity for his final selections.
“If you ever talk to Kevin Colbert, he values those seventh round picks more than anybody I’ve ever met in my life,” Kaboly told 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller Friday afternoon. “He always mentions, ‘well you can always find a Brett Keisel in the seventh round.”
During his tenure as Steelers GM from 2000 through 2022, he made 30 seventh round selections. In our most recent update ranking each of Colbert’s 183 picks, here’s where we ranked each seventh round pick.
#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
#111. Noah Herron – Rd. 7
#107. Dallas Baker – Rd. 7
#98. Demarcus Ayers – Rd. 7
#97. Baron Batch – Rd. 7
#96. Carlos Davis – Rd. 7
#93. David Paulson – Rd. 7
#92. Pressley Harvin III – Rd. 7
#87. Mark Robinson – Rd. 7
#79. Tre Norwood – Rd. 7
#62. David Johnson – Rd. 7
#51. Tyler Matakevich – Rd. 7
#35. Kelvin Beachum – Rd. 7
#15. Brett Keisel – Rd. 7
Like any GM, most seventh round picks missed. By our test, the Steelers didn’t get any or only minimal return on 24 of them. TE David Paulson stuck for two years and appeared in over two dozen games but his positive impact on the team is hard to find. Pressley Harvin III was a three-year starter but marginal punter in his best years and liability in his worst. The “hit” list begins with LB Mark Robinson, who has still only been a special teamer the team hasn’t placed much trust in. S Tre Norwood had a sub-package role for two years but didn’t make it out of camp last year and frankly, could be ranked too high overall.
The four clear hits are TE/FB David Johnson, LB Tyler Matakevich, OT Kelvin Beachum, and DE Brett Keisel. Johnson was a squatty body who could block and line up all over the backfield. In two stints with the Steelers, he played five years, appearing in 68 games and making 31 starts. Matakevich became a special teams ace, a four-year starter for Danny Smith’s units. He logged at least 270 coverage/return snaps in all four seasons with the Steelers before signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2020.
Despite being undersized, Beachum became a quality left tackle for Pittsburgh. Originally thought to play center or guard, he overcame questions about his build to make 39 starts for the Steelers from 2012-2015. A torn ACL cut his time short, replaced by Alejandro Villanueva. But Beachum has shown remarkable staying power, still in the league and ready to enter his 13th season. Of the 47 seventh round picks in Beachum’s draft year, he’s the only one still playing football. In fact, no one else made it past 2020.
But Keisel was the gold standard of Colbert’s final round picks. The 242nd overall selection of the 2002 NFL Draft, Keisel cut his teeth on special teams early on, even running down kicks and punts. A 2003 season-ending shoulder injury didn’t slow him down and by 2005, he saw rotational d-line snaps. In 2006, his fifth NFL season, he became a full-time starter. He remained in that role through 2013, appearing in 156 total games and 144 starts, all as a Steeler. He finished his career with 408 tackles, 30 sacks, and made the Pro Bowl in 2010.
Kaboly pushed back on Colbert’s cheery tone to those picks, calling them the exception rather than the rule.
“You can find about two dozen other guys that get cut and they stink right away. Nobody mentions the Dallas Baker’s of the world who is a seventh round pick.”
First, let’s put some respect on Dallas Baker’s “The Touchdown Maker” name. Second, at least he caught one pass in Pittsburgh. But Kaboly’s point is largely true. More seventh round picks miss than hit. More fourth round picks miss than hit. Finding gems in the final rounds can separate teams and draft classes. Antonio Brown in the sixth, Keisel in the seventh.
So far, Omar Khan has made two seventh round selections, both in 2023. CB Cory Trice Jr. and OL Spencer Anderson. Trice missed his rookie year with a torn ACL while Anderson did well to stick on the 53 all season as a rookie, though he’s in a tougher fight for his roster spot this season. Khan and the Steelers didn’t make a seventh round pick in 2024. Through a flurry of trades, the team’s final picks came in the sixth round with DL Logan Lee and DB Ryan Watts.
