All the WR drafted under Steelers GM Kevin Colbert

A narrative that gets pushed every year around the NFL draft is the skill of Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert to select productive wide receivers regardless of the round. It’s easy to point to a guy like Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders as the best examples but we wanted to dig a little deeper and see if Colbert is really the wide receiver guru he is portrayed.

Colbert has been in charge of the Steelers’ draft since 2000 and has selected 22 wide receivers during that time. Here’s how the picks break down during the Colbert era.

2019-Diontae Johnson (3^rd round)

2018-James Washington (2^nd round)

2017-JuJu Smith-Schuster (2^nd round)

2016-Demarcus Ayers (7^th round)

2015-Sammie Coates (3^rd round)

2014-Martavis Bryant (4^th round)

2013-Markus Wheaton (3^rd round)

2013-Justin Brown (6^th round)

2012-Toney Clemons (7^th round)

2010-Emmanuel Sanders (3^rd round)

2010-Antonio Brown (6^th round)

2009-Mike Wallace (3^rd round)

2008-Limas Sweed (2^nd round)

2007-Dallas Baker (7^th round)

2006-Santonio Holmes (1^st round)

2006-Willie Reid (3^rd round)

2005-Fred Gibson (4^th round)

2002-Antwaan Randle El (2^nd round)

2002-Lee Mays (6^th round)

2001-Chris Taylor (7^th round)

2000-Troy Edwards (1^st round)

2000-Malcolm Johnson (5^th round)

In terms of hits, Randle El, Holmes, Brown, Sanders, and Smith-Schuster certainly qualify. Guys like Bryant, Coates, Wallace and Wheaton are borderline players who never lived up to potential but had their moments. The rest of the list was utterly forgettable minus Johnson who has yet to get on the field.

Rather than pass judgment on the narrative, we are just passing on the information and letting the fans decide if it’s fair to characterize Colbert has a wide receiver guru.