Former Steelers' GM Kevin Colbert's Behind The Scenes Look Into Passing On Chad Pennington In 2000

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their first draft under General Manager Omar Khan, and it will be interesting to see how he will approach the NFL Draft differently than his predecessors Kevin Colbert and Tom Donahoe. Khan has a lot to measure up to, as the Steelers were able to win Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII, due in large part to Colbert’s aggressive approach. What remains to be seen is who Khan will select with his first ever selection in the first round, and if that player is as both talented and enigmatic as the players were in the initial selections of his predecessors as we review in Part II of this comparison series.

When Kevin Colbert approached the 2000 NFL Draft with the 8th overall pick (the second highest in the franchise from 1972-2023), there were two main players on the Steelers radar: Marshall quarterback, Chad Pennington and Michigan State receiver, Plaxico Burress.  And ironically, another legendary former NFC East coach, Bill Parcells, would show a lot of interest in the Steelers draft.

The Steelers passing offense had struggled in the previous three seasons and both Pennington and Burress were seen as potential solutions in Colbert’s mind. There were also other factors including the draft capital recently invested at the wide receiver position. The Steelers had just drafted Troy Edwards with the 13th overall pick in 1999, and he finished tied with Hines Ward (drafted 1998) for the most receptions on the team with 61.  

There were questions around the quarterback position as well. Kordell Stewart had struggled in 1999, and Mike Tomczak retired after the Steelers decided to move on from the veteran. But they delved into free agency to draft Kent Graham and it ultimately proved to be the deciding factor.

Kevin Colbert per On The Clock: The Pittsburgh Steelers:

“Kordell had done some very good things before we came in, and we had signed Kent Graham. I remember the press conference and talking about Kordell. I said, ‘Hey, I’ve scouted the guy. We [the Detroit Lions] played you guys in recent years, and me, doing the advance, obviously respected what he could and can still do.’ So it wasn’t like we were in a desperate need for a quarterback at that point.”

The Steelers ultimately decided that the physical abilities of a 6’5”, 230-pound WR in Burress would ultimately be a better solution to fixing the passing game as they believed Burress was a superior player at his position than Pennington was at his.

“We went into that draft liking Chad a lot. We spent a lot of time with him, but we just felt for the 2000 team, Plaxico Burress was the better pick. Plax had a great career. But, in all honesty, we didn’t go into that thinking we wanted a quarterback.”

However, the Steelers did not give up on trying to bring Pennington into the fold. After selecting Burress, Colbert furiously tried to make a trade to acquire another first-round pick. Before the New York Jets made their pick at No. 18, the Steelers offered Bill Parcells their second-round draft choice (No. 38 overall), a third-rounder (No. 77 overall) and their fourth-round pick (103).  

Parcells declined the Steelers offer and the Jets used the pick to select Pennington. The next day, Parcells let rumors float that the Jets offered the #12 overall pick (Shawn Ellis) and Pennington for Burress, something that was never confirmed.

Burress flourished when he played with Tommy Maddox (who Burress dubbed with the nickname “Tommy Gun”), as he attained career best for both receptions (78) and yards (1,325) in 2003. Burress showed the potential for incredible chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 as he became the big play threat (19.94 yards per catch) for the rookie, "Big Ben." But once again, the Steelers faced a cap and cash situation, and effectively had to make a decision between signing Burress or Ward to a long-term contract. The Steelers decided to go with the more team-oriented and less spectacular Ward over the enigmatic and oft-troubled Burress, who would later sign with the New York Giants.   

The post-Steelers career of Burress saw him attain incredible highs including pulling in the historic game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLII when the Giants ended New England Patriots bid for a perfect season. However, Burress’ personal decisions would drastically alter his legacy dramatically when in the 2008 season, he was charged with criminal possession of a handgun after accidentally shooting himself in a New York City nightclub. In the resulting fallout, Burress was suspended for the remainder of the 2008 season and the Giants, who began 9-1, lost 3 of their final 4 regular season games and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Giants released Burress in April 2009, and he would remain suspended per the NFL personal conduct penalty for the ensuing two seasons.

Upon his reinstatement in 2011, the Steelers attempted to bring back Burress, who opted to sign a one-year deal with the New York Jets. Burress would return to the black and gold for the final 4 games of the 2012 season after injuries to Antonio Brown and Jerricho Cotchery. Burress did not make any significant impact, but did link up with Roethlisberger for the final touchdown of his career late in the fourth quarter of the season finale vs. the Cleveland Browns.

Burress had a productive run with the Steelers, but it's evident that his career never reached the heights that he potentially could have. Comparing with Donahoe and the career of Leon Searcy, it’s a legitimate question as to who the better Steeler was and who turned out to be the bigger disappointment.