The Pittsburgh Steelers found a late-round gem and future leader of the franchise on the defensive line when they selected Brett Keisel with the 242nd overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. The two-time Super Bowl champion in black and gold recalled the feelings of disappointment when two days of the draft had passed and he still hadn't heard his name called.
With the 2023 NFL Draft fast approaching, the The PM Team with hosts Chris Mueller and Andrew Fillipponi, after some banter about Keisel's ranch, took the opportunity to ask him about how he remembered the draft experience and why he slid down draft boards after putting up 38 total tackles with 17.5 for a loss in 30 games in his three years with the BYU Cougars.
"I was checking out the projections and things like that and some people said like the third or fourth round, so I'm like let's have a party, have the whole family over," he said. "It's really not fun when everyone is there and your name is not called, especially when you feel you could've done better. Then the next day, your name isn't called and the party begins to disperse pretty quickly."
Just when he thought he was going to be trying to test the market as an undrafted free agent, the phone rang and it was a 412 number. He picked it up and on the other end of the line was head coach Bill Cowher asking if he wanted to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. His response: "Oh yeah, baby!" He's pretty sure that his poor day at the NFL Scouting Combine was the reason his draft stock sunk like a stone.
"I didn't have a great combine and I don't like the combine," he said. "It does help very few amounts of people, but the way it's laid out, it can also have a negative impact. For me, it wasn't the best experience, but I'm actually grateful for it and that I landed where I did."
Steelers' Strong Cast Of Leaders Helped Keisel Become A Pro Bowler
The Steelers were coming off their fourth AFC title game appearance of the Cowher era in 2001, losing 24-17 to Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots, when Keisel joined the team. He said veteran guys like Jason Gildon, Joey Porter Sr., Lee Flowers, Alan Faneca, and Jerome Bettis really set the tone and showed Keisel the ins and outs of Steeler football.
"The second you come through the tunnel for the first time, you go, 'I want to be here,'" he said. "When you come in here and go into a building like that and look at the walls and see the players with their comfort levels with the front office, it's a different environment, a family environment. You want to be a part of that and you're going to do anything you can to be a part of that."
Despite the feelings of disappointment close to two decades ago, Keisel is thankful his fall down the board landed him with an organization like the Steelers and he fully believes he wouldn't have become the player he did if he'd gone somewhere else.
Are you as happy as Keisel that his draft day slide landed him in Pittsburgh? Is there a player in 2023 who had a bad combine you want to fall to the Steelers?
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