Historically, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had good luck with the picks in the NFL draft under general manager Kevin Colbert. This is especially true of early picks. Pro Football Focus went through all 32 team’s drafts for the last five years and selected each team’s best draft decision during that stretch.
For the Steelers, PFF says the best draft decision of the last five years was the selection of linebacker T.J. Watt in the first round back in 2017. Here’s what they had to say about the pick of Watt.
The 2017 edge class was very similar to the 2021 class in that rankings were all over the map. But it was kind of reversed in that it had a ton of very productive guys but a lot of middling athletes. Derek Barnett, Charles Harris and Taco Charlton all fell into that bucket and went before Watt. Watt, however, had sneaky good production with a 91.0 pass-rushing grade in 2016 and was an exceptional all-around athlete.
Watt falling to the Steelers given the alternatives was definitely good fortune. In just four seasons, Watt has established himself as the best 3-4 edge rusher in the league and a contender for Defensive Player of the Year every season.
A close second place for me would be the trade that sent the Steelers first-round pick in 2020 in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is an elite safety and there was no player the Steelers could have selected with the same pick.
