Let's take a look back at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 NFL Draft. Known as one of the best franchises when it comes to developing talent, fans are almost always confident in the selections from the organization every April. Roughly 15 years ago, speedy running back Willie Parker was coming to the end of his career and the position was a need for Mike Tomlin's team.
Steelers Take The Wrong Running Back In 2008
Pittsburgh ended up drafting Rashard Mendenhall 23rd overall in 2008 to be Parker's successor, and while he had some decent seasons with the team, he will be remembered for his fumble in Super Bowl XLV, which has recently stirred up some Twitter drama for the former ball carrier. One of the biggest draft mistakes during Tomlin's tenure was taking Mendenhall over running back, Chris Johnson.
Johnson, a Hall of Fame nominee, ran a blazing 4.24 40-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine. Johnson recently joined retired running back LenDale White for an interview on the Bleav Network. He talked about the draft process and why teams may have been turned off by him due to a past injury. In particular, he didn't think the Steelers were even interested in him:
"End of my sophomore year, I cracked a vertebrae, I think I had 16 visits at the combine. Go to this one particular visit: Pittsburgh. I meet with all the coaches, they liking me, this and that. I'm just vibing. I ain't even thinking they taking a running back because they got Willie Parker."
Johnson said that he met with a running backs coach for Pittsburgh, likely Kirby Wilson, and the organization wanted to get him checked medically due to his prior back injury:
"We watching film, the running backs coach, he like, 'Oh, yeah I think they wanna send you for an MRI.'"
The former AP Offensive Player of the Year didn't go through the proper steps and instead of getting another MRI which he had done multiple times throughout the process, went to the head guy in Tomlin to tell him why he didn't want to do another one:
"At the combine, every team has their station of doctors there. Nine times out of 10, these doctors aren't going to evaluate you if [the team is] not interested. Instead of just sitting down, going through everything and talking about it, I go to Mike T's office and tell him, 'Man, I'm claustrophobic, I did all the MRI's already.'"
Tomlin, who is known to be a no-nonsense kind of guy, wasn't pleased with the fact that the Steelers' own team doctors wouldn't be able to evaluate Johnson's health. It may have ended up being the main reason why the organization didn't draft Johnson. The ball carrier is claustrophobic and that fact paired with Johnson not wanting to do another MRI could be the reason he never played in Pittsburgh:
"That man stood up and was like, 'Man, alright that's cool. Can't do business with you,'" Johnson said of Tomlin.
After the Steelers selected Mendenhall 23rd overall, the Tennessee Titans took Johnson a pick after at No. 24. Johnson ended up finishing his career with over double the amount of rushing yards (9,651) than Mendenhall (4,236). Could the mistake also be the reason Pittsburgh didn't capture another Lombardi Trophy?
At the end of the discussion, White had a message for Tomlin:
"Listen Mike T, you a cold coach, but that was one mistake I guarantee you wish you could rewind it."
Can you believe Johnson being claustrophobic may be the main reason the Steelers drafted Mendenhall instead of him?
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