Steelers' Road Back To Elite Status Needs To Include Finding Gems In Rounds 3 And Later

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering their first off-season under general manager, Omar Khan, with the best combination of position and capital than at any time in the Mike Tomlin era. With so much interest dedicated to who the Steelers will draft with two selections in the top 32 picks or who the Steelers will target in free agency, it’s easy to overlook the area where the Steelers have repeatedly failed in the last 10 years: the later rounds of the draft.

The Steelers did not build a pair of two-time Super Bowl championship rosters in 2005 and 2008 respectively from the first and second rounds of the draft. Without the successes of both Tom Donahoe and Kevin Colbert unearthed as gems drafted in the third round and later, the Steelers would very much likely still be looking for “One for the Thumb.”

Building the 2005 Steelers through the Draft

When deconstructing the Steelers 2005 Super Bowl roster, they were able to find critical talent from the third and fourth rounds who became starters on the defensive side of the ball.

Deshea Townsend

The first piece of the defensive backfield on the 2005 season was a fourth-round selection in the 1998 draft in cornerback, Deshea Townsend. Townsend turned down the opportunity to play quarterback at multiple colleges to play cornerback at Alabama and was a four-year starter, earning All-SEC honors three times. The Steelers drafted Townsend to play nickel in the slot, as the 5’9”, 180-pounder came with questions about his ability to play against the run. However, Townsend had great footwork that could match anyone on the team.

Former Steelers defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis, per On The Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers, called a “one-time guy” as in he only had to be taught something once. He carried that trait through a 13-year career that included two championship rings before entering coaching.

Joey Porter

Joey Porter was another middle round selection that was a major contributor to the 2005 Super Bowl championship team. They selected Porter out of Colorado State with the 12th pick of the third round (No. 73 overall) in 1999.

Porter went to Colorado State as an H-back, but dropped too many passes and was moved to defensive end as a junior. He notched six sacks at his new position before erupting for 14 his senior season. Porter measured 6’3”, 241 pounds, and ran a 4.68-second 40 at the NFL Combine, but it was the Senior Bowl where he made his mark.

Tom Donahoe, per On the Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“He didn’t have an unusual game there, but his practice tape and his one-on-one pass-rush stuff was unbelievable. That’s where we got interested in him.”

With so few teams playing a 3-4 defensive alignment at the time, the Steelers were an ideal fit for Porter. He was considered too small to play defensive end in the NFL, but his athleticism was reminiscent of Greg Lloyd, and it was not lost on the Steelers front office or fans. The Steelers even gave Porter No. 95, Lloyd’s old number.

Tom Donahoe, per On the Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“His quickness and his explosiveness remind you a little bit of Lloyd. Now, I don’t want to say he’s Greg Lloyd. That’s not fair to the kid. But from the movement standpoint and from the quickness standpoint, he’s very similar to Greg.”

Porter went on to forge his own identity in Pittsburgh, exchanging #95 for #55 before the start of his rookie season and becoming the heart and soul of the Steelers 2005 Championship team. He would finish his career with 98 sacks, 25 forced fumbles, 12 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries, a touchdown, and a ring.

Aaron Smith

After Porter, the Steelers landed Aaron Smith out of Northern Colorado with the 14th pick of the fourth round (No. 109 overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. Smith did not start his football journey until his junior year, and his predisposition to play other sports like basketball, kept his slender 210-pound physique off the radar to some of the bigger college football programs. Smith would eventually join Northern Colorado, a Division II school, when he slipped the recruitment cracks.

By the time Smith was a senior, he had bulked up and complied an impressive 44 sacks over his career, with a school record of 21.5 as a senior. He was not a prototypical defensive end in the NFL as he was still considered undersized, which led to the Steelers style of defense becoming a definitive advantage.

Tom Donahoe, per On the Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“Again, there weren’t a lot of teams back then playing the 3-4 defense. We were probably lucky we got some of those guys later than where you might have to take them today. That was true with Aaron Smith, too, because Aaron was a natural-looking 3-4 defensive end. But he was a guy that we knew if we did take him we were going to have to bulk him up a little bit.”

Tom Donahoe, per On the Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“The thing that impressed everybody with Aaron was just his toughness, his playing strength, his intensity, his work ethic.  He was a true team-type player. He cared more about the team than he cared about Aaron Smith. I think he maintained that his entire career.”

The Steelers were not the only team that had showed interest in Smith, as the Denver Broncos had called Smith to say they were going to take him with the 61st pick. The Smith family in nearby Colorado Springs was braced for a celebration, but the Broncos instead selected center Lennie Friedman. After passing on Smith two times in the third round, the Steelers would select him in the fourth round and it began the long journey of Smith’s extremely successful run with the franchise.

Aaron Smith, per On the Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“It was hard to adjust. It’s a whole different way of playing. When you line up in a 4-3, you can attack, be aggressive, and not worry so much about double teams. Here, you see a lot of double teams, you’re two-gapping a lot of times, and you’ve got to keep guys off your linebackers. You’ve got a lot more responsibilities in a 3-4.”

Smith became the starter in 2000 and continued to improve as he gained more size. The Steelers become nearly impossible to run on once Smith became a fixture on the line. He would go on to become one of the defensive linemen in the NFL as he helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls.

These three mid-round draft picks were a key part of the Steelers 2005 Super Bowl run, but there were others. What other hidden gems did the Steelers find in later rounds or as undrafted free agents?