With the Steelers’ 2012 schedule being announced today and including fellow 2004 NFL Draft alums Eli Manning (pick #1) and Phillip Rivers (pick #4) to face Ben Roethlisberger (pick #11); as well as throwback jerseys being displayed it brought about an old story. A 2004 NFL Draft throwback per-say.

As the 2004 NFL Draft approached there were three standout quarterbacks available: Manning, Rivers, and Roethlisberger. The San Diego Chargers held the number one overall pick and were set to draft Eli Manning first overall and make him their franchise quarterback. The Giants held the fourth pick in the draft and wanted Manning, but were ready to draft Ben Roethlisberger with the fourth pick since Manning would likely go number one overall. The Steelers sat at pick 11 with hopes of drafting whoever had not yet been picked.

Steelers coach Bill Cowher was set on drafting Phillip Rivers he believed that Rivers was the best of the three quarterbacks and he was his pick if he had the choice. However, as the draft approached Manning made it clear that he would not sign with the Chargers. If the picked him with the first pick he would holdout until he was traded to another team. The question then arose: who will trade for Manning and which quarterback is the Chargers second favorite.

Chargers’ coach Marty Schottenheimer had coached Rivers during the Senior Bowl and had named him as his second option over Roethlisberger. When the draft came the Chargers selected Manning and later traded him to the Giants for Rivers and two other picks. The Steelers were left with only one option at quarterback; Miami of Ohio star Ben Roethlisberger. However, Cowher was upset about missing out on Rivers and was not convinced Roethlisberger was the man for the Steelers. Cowher and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert discussed drafting offensive tackle Shawn Andrews and sticking with Tommy Maddux at quarterback (Andrews is out of the league after playing for the Eagles and Giants until 2010).


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