Pittsburgh Steelers all-time NFL Draft classes: No. 3, 1971

[polamalubeast]

http://www.pennlive.com/steelers/index.ssf/2016/04/steelers_all-time_draft_1971.html

[zulater]

I thought 71 would be second. :noidea:

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69 was already picked earlier right?

I'm trying to figure out which is 2? 03 you got Troy and Ike (not looking, this is off the top of my head) and I suppose just getting Ben in 04 and of itself could make it 2, but I don't remember that draft producing much if anything else.

[86WARD]

Max Starks was in Ben's class. Still not worthy of a number 2-3 draft class.

[zulater]

Maybe they''re going 98? Faneca in the 1st, Hines in the 3rd, and DeShea Townsend in the 4th.

Two potential Hall of famers.

[zulater]

You know what? It's probably 87. Rod Woodson, Thomas Everett, Hardy Nickerson, and Merrill Hoge.

[pczach]

You know what? It's probably 87. Rod Woodson, Thomas Everett, Hardy Nickerson, and Merrill Hoge.


When you start rattling off draft classes of this franchise, you realize how lucky we are to be fans of this team. Most teams don't even have one draft class that can compare to this franchise's top 5.

[fansince'76]

You know what? It's probably 87. Rod Woodson, Thomas Everett, Hardy Nickerson, and Merrill Hoge.

Not to mention Greg Lloyd (6th round).

[zulater]

Not to mention Greg Lloyd (6th round).


Damn, I knew when I proof read my post that something looked off! That it wasn't as compelling as I thought it was. :doh: That makes it a slam dunk as the 2nd best without argument.

[Hawkman]

Damn, I knew when I proof read my post that something looked off! That it wasn't as compelling as I thought it was. :doh: That makes it a slam dunk as the 2nd best without argument.

He was 6th???

[fansince'76]

He was 6th???

Yep, but a little perspective is in order here - it was still a 12-round draft (http://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/draft/1987) in those days, so Lloyd was a "middle rounder" at the time.

[zulater]

Any draft you get two high impact starters out of you've done well. When the drafts are first in we all fantasize how every pick could hit. But in the end there's very few times that you're going to hit on more than 3 picks.

[Born2Steel]

Now I'm sure # 1 will be 2016.

[Craic]

You know, in hindsight, 2002 was very good all-around draft for us. We didn't get any superstars from it, but we got a lot of talent and contributors:

Round 1. Kendall Simmons = was set up to have a very good career until he was diagnosed with diabetes and then tor his ACL. He still ended up with four very good years. The last three were so-so due to injury and other things.

Round 2. Antwaan Randle El. The gadget man/non-slash. Again, not a superstar, but a very solid contributor and someone teams had to take notice of everytime he walked onto the field.

Round 4. Larry Foote. For being drafted in Round 4, he was a great contributor and kept getting better as he got older. Originally, I saw him as a placeholder for the next great Steelers LBer, but I gradually started coming around after watching solid play from him.

Round 7. Brett Keisel. A little over a dozen picks from being Mr. Irrelevant in the draft, there's not much to say here. The guy played his heart out and anchored the team through two Superbowls.