(Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier/Getty Images)
Rick Gosselin posted an interesting piece this morning in which the Talk of Fame Network researched the 86 drafts in NFL history to determine the best player chosen in each of the 259 draft slots.
Gosselin wrote that the choices are all selective. Some of the picks were obvious, such 82 (Joe Montana in 1979) and 199 (Tom Brady in 2000). But some were hyper-competitive, such as the fourth overall pick with Otto Graham, Joe Greene, John Hannah, Jonathan Ogden, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and LaDainian Tomlinson among the considerations.
The Packers led with way with 20 of the draft selections, followed by the Steelers with 18.
Below are the 18 Steelers who made the list.
No. 4 Joe Greene
No. 10 Rod Woodson
No. 22 Ernie Stautner
No. 34 Jack Ham
No. 44 Dermonti Dawson
No. 53 Mel Blount
No. 92 Hines Ward
No. 102 Johnny Unitas
No. 104 Dwight White
No. 122 Hardy Nickerson
No. 125 Mike Webster
No. 150 Greg Lloyd
No. 185 Jeff Zgonina
No. 195 Antonio Brown
No. 220 Andy Russell
No. 238 L.C. Greenwood
No. 242 Brett Keisel
No. 248 Kelvin Beachum
Unitas famously never played a down for the Steelers as he was cut prior to the 1955 season. Unitas would go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Colts and was named NFL MVP three times. In addition, Unitas was named to 10 Pro Bowls, the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team and won three championships. Zgonina didn't last long with the Steelers either, playing just two seasons -- 1993 and 1994. He had a 17-year career though and played for six other teams, including winning a Super Bowl with the Rams in 1999.
Other players on the list with Steelers connections were Kevin Greene at No. 113 and Dick LeBeau at No. 58. Greene was drafted by the Rams in 1985, but played three seasons with the Steelers from 1993-1996 and recorded 35.5 sacks in 48 games. Greene is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and his 160 career sacks rank fourth all-time. drafted by the Lions in
LeBeau was initially drafted by the Browns in the fifth round in 1959 but was cut in training camp. He would go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Lions and record 62 career interceptions, which is 10th all-time.
LeBeau had two stints as the Steelers defensive coordinator. The first one came in 1995-1996 and the second one was 2004-2014. LeBeau was a part of the Steelers' 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl champion teams.