List of Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft picks

Byron "Whizzer" White was selected fourth overall in the 1938 draft – he went on to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, participated in the first NFL draft prior to the 1936 season. The franchise changed its name to the Steelers prior to the 1940 season, to represent the city's heritage of producing steel.[1]

The event, which is officially known as the "Player Selection Meeting",[2] is held each April. The draft is used as the primary means to distribute newly available talent (primarily from college football) equitably amongst the teams. Selections are made in reverse order based on the previous season's record, i.e. the club with the worst record from the previous season selects first. Through 2009, only two exceptions were made to this order: the Super Bowl champion always selects last (32nd), and the Super Bowl loser is awarded the penultimate (31st) pick. Beginning in 2010, teams making the playoffs will be seeded in reverse order depending upon how far they advance.[3] The draft consists of seven rounds. Teams have the option of trading selections for players, cash and/or other selections (including future year selections). Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.[4] The Steelers have traded away their first-round pick eight times; they have had two first-round selections in two drafts.

The Steelers' first selection in the inaugural NFL draft was William Shakespeare, a halfback from Notre Dame.[5] The Steelers have selected first overall three times, drafting Bill Dudley in 1942, Gary Glick in 1956 and Terry Bradshaw in 1970. The team has selected second overall once, and third overall four times.[5] Through 2023, ten Steeler first-round picks have gone on to have playing careers deemed worthy of enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Terry Bradshaw, Len Dawson, Bill Dudley, Alan Faneca, Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Bobby Layne, Troy Polamalu, Lynn Swann, and Rod Woodson.[6] The team's most recent first-round selection was Broderick Jones, an offensive tackle from the University of Georgia.

Key

Position Key
Abbreviation Position Abbreviation Position Abbreviation Position
B Back K Kicker NT Nose tackle
C Center LB Linebacker FB Fullback
DB Defensive back P Punter HB Halfback
DE Defensive end QB Quarterback WR Wide receiver
DT Defensive tackle RB Running back G Guard
E End T Offensive tackle TE Tight end
Symbol Key
Symbol Meaning
^ Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
 *  Selected number one overall
† Selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career
— No draft pick that year
Year Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft
Pick Number of the pick within the first round
Position Position of the player
College Attended college

Player selections

1954 first-round selection Johnny Lattner played only a single NFL season.
Franco Harris caught the "Immaculate Reception" in the 1972 NFL Playoffs.
Lynn Swann, drafted in 1974, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Rod Woodson, drafted in 1987, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Alan Faneca was a 5-time All-Pro for the Steelers after being drafted in 1998.
Troy Polamalu made the Pro Bowl six consecutive years from 2004 to 2009, and was Defensive Player of the Year in 2010.
Drafted in 2004, Ben Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 2005 at the age of 23.[7]
Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft picks
Year Pick Player name Position College Notes
1936 3 William Shakespeare RB Notre Dame
1937 5 Mike Basrak RB Duquesne
1938 4 Byron White RB Colorado
1939 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [a]
1940 3 Kay Eakin RB Arkansas
1941 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [b]
1942 1 Bill Dudley*† RB Virginia
1943 7 Bill Daley FB Minnesota
1944 10 Johnny Podesto RB St. Mary's (CA)
1945 2 Paul Duhart RB Florida
1946 3 Doc Blanchard FB Army
1947 5 Hub Bechtol WR Texas
1948 3 Bobby Layne† QB Texas [p]
9 Dan Edwards WR Georgia
1949 6 Bobby Gage RB Clemson
1950 8 Lynn Chandnois RB Michigan State
1951 9 Butch Avinger FB Alabama
1952 6 Ed Modzelewski FB Maryland
1953 5 Ted Marchibroda QB Detroit
1954 7 Johnny Lattner RB Notre Dame
1955 6 Frank Varrichione OT Notre Dame
1956 1 Gary Glick* DB Colorado State [c]
1956 5 Art Davis RB Mississippi State
1957 5 Len Dawson† QB Purdue
1958 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [d]
1959 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [e]
1960 6 Jack Spikes FB TCU
1961 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [f]
1962 5 Bob Ferguson RB Ohio State
1963 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [g]
1964 10 Paul Martha RB Pittsburgh
1965 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [h]
1966 3 Dick Leftridge RB WVU
1967 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [i]
1968 10 Mike Taylor OT USC
1969 4 Joe Greene† DT North Texas
1970 1 Terry Bradshaw*† QB Louisiana Tech
1971 8 Frank Lewis WR Grambling
1972 13 Franco Harris† RB Penn State
1973 24 J. T. Thomas DB Florida State
1974 21 Lynn Swann† WR USC
1975 26 Dave Brown DB Michigan
1976 28 Bennie Cunningham TE Clemson
1977 21 Robin Cole LB New Mexico
1978 22 Ron Johnson DB Eastern Michigan
1979 28 Greg Hawthorne RB Baylor
1980 28 Mark Malone QB Arizona State
1981 17 Keith Gary DE Oklahoma
1982 12 Walter Abercrombie RB Baylor
1983 21 Gabriel Rivera DE Texas Tech
1984 23 Louis Lipps WR Southern Mississippi
1985 20 Darryl Sims DE Wisconsin
1986 9 John Rienstra G Temple
1987 10 Rod Woodson† DB Purdue
1988 18 Aaron Jones DE Eastern Kentucky
1989 7 Tim Worley RB Georgia
1989 24 Tom Ricketts OT Pittsburgh [j]
1990 21 Eric Green TE Liberty [k]
1991 15 Huey Richardson DE Florida
1992 11 Leon Searcy OT Miami
1993 23 Deon Figures DB Colorado
1994 17 Charles Johnson WR Colorado
1995 27 Mark Bruener TE Washington
1996 29 Jamain Stephens OT North Carolina A&T
1997 24 Chad Scott DB Maryland
1998 26 Alan Faneca† G LSU
1999 13 Troy Edwards WR Louisiana Tech
2000 8 Plaxico Burress WR Michigan State
2001 19 Casey Hampton DT Texas [l]
2002 30 Kendall Simmons G Auburn
2003 16 Troy Polamalu† DB USC [m]
2004 11 Ben Roethlisberger QB Miami (OH)
2005 30 Heath Miller TE Virginia
2006 25 Santonio Holmes WR Ohio State [n]
2007 15 Lawrence Timmons LB Florida State
2008 23 Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
2009 32 Evander Hood DT Missouri
2010 18 Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
2011 31 Cameron Heyward DE Ohio State
2012 24 David DeCastro G Stanford
2013 17 Jarvis Jones LB Georgia
2014 15 Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State
2015 22 Bud Dupree LB Kentucky
2016 25 Artie Burns CB Miami
2017 30 T. J. Watt LB Wisconsin
2018 28 Terrell Edmunds S Virginia Tech
2019 10 Devin Bush LB Michigan
2020 99– ZZZNo pick ZZZ– ZZZ– [o]
2021 24 Najee Harris RB Alabama
2022 20 Kenny Pickett QB Pittsburgh
2023 14 Broderick Jones OT Georgia
2024 20 Troy Fautanu OT Washington

Notes

  • a The Steelers traded their 1939 pick (2nd overall) to the Chicago Bears.[8]
  • b The Steelers traded their 1941 pick (3rd overall) to the Chicago Bears (3rd overall)[9]
  • c This was a lottery bonus pick.[10]
  • d The Steelers traded their 1958 pick (8th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers.[11]
  • e The Steelers traded their 1959 pick (8th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers.[12]
  • f The Steelers traded their 1961 pick (6th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers.[13]
  • g The Steelers traded their 1963 pick (11th overall) to the Chicago Bears.[14]
  • h The Steelers traded their 1965 pick (3rd overall) to the Chicago Bears.[15]
  • i The Steelers traded their 1967 pick (9th overall) to the Green Bay Packers.[16]
  • j The Steelers acquired the 1989 pick (24th overall) from the Minnesota Vikings.[17]
  • k The Steelers traded their 1990 pick (17th overall) to the Dallas Cowboys for Dallas' 1990 pick (21st overall, obtained from Minnesota Vikings) and a third-round pick (82nd overall, obtained from San Francisco 49ers).[5]
  • l The Steelers traded their 2001 pick (16th overall) to the New York Jets for their first-round pick (19th overall), their fourth-round pick (111th overall) and their sixth-round pick (181st overall).[18]
  • m The Steelers traded their first-round pick (27th overall), third-round pick (92nd overall) and sixth-round pick (200th overall) to obtain the 2003 pick (16th overall).[19]
  • n The Steelers obtained the 2006 pick from New York Giants by trading their first-round pick (32nd overall), their third-round pick (96th overall) and their fourth-round pick (129th overall).[20]
  • o The Steelers traded their 2020 pick (18th overall) to the Miami Dolphins to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick.[21]
  • p The Steelers drafted Bobby Layne but immediately traded him to the Chicago Bears.[22]

References

Specific

  1. ^ "Steelers' History" (PDF). Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  2. ^ Branch, John (April 9, 2000). "The 2000 Liars Club/ Draft makes Broncos coach cloak intentions". The Gazette (Colorado Springs). Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Duffy, Mike (March 26, 2009). "New Draft Order, More Rule Changes". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  4. ^ Alder, James. "NFL Draft Basics: Determining Order of Selection". About.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "Steelers' All Time Draft History" (PDF). Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  6. ^ "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  7. ^ "Steelers Quarterback Roethlisberger Seriously Injured in Motorcycle Crash". Fox News. Associated Press. June 12, 2006. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  8. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1939". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  9. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1941". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  10. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1956". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  11. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1958". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  12. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1959". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  13. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1961". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  14. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1963". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  15. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1965". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  16. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1967". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  17. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1989". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  18. ^ "2001 NFL Draft weekend trades". cnnsi.com. CNN. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  19. ^ "2003 NFL Draft trades". ESPN. April 26, 2003. Archived from the original on May 15, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  20. ^ "2006 NFL Draft Trader". ESPN. April 27, 2006. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  21. ^ "Dolphins Trade Minkah Fitzpatrick to Steelers for 2020 First-Round Pick". Sports Illustrated. September 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Bobby Layne". Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

General