One team that has a reputation for using the NFL draft to assemble its roster is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There is one position group that the Steelers draft more frequently than others, despite the fact that much has been said about their aptitude and frequency in selecting wide receivers.
On the most recent episode of The Steelers Preview podcast, I was tasked with coming up with a trivia question for Jeff Hartman and Bryan Anthony Davis like I do each week. Trying to stay on topic where we were discussing DeMarvin Leal as a 2022 draft selection as well as the retirement of Stephon Tuitt, I begin looking at the draft history of the Pittsburgh Steelers in regards to defensive lineman. To my surprise, the Steelers have gone less years in the Kevin Colbert era in which they did not select a defensive lineman than when they are compared to drafting wide receivers. The only draft since 2000 where the Pittsburgh Steelers have not taken a defensive lineman was in 2003, 2008, and 2017.
When it comes to determining if the Steelers drafted a defensive lineman, it can be quite tricky. Because the Pittsburgh Steelers run a 3–4 defense, when a player comes out of the draft as a defensive end, it can be confusing if they are a defensive lineman or outside linebacker. For example, players such as Isaiahh Loudermilk, Stephon Tuitt, and Cameron Heyward were listed as being drafted as defensive ends, but so were Anthony Chickillo, Jason Worilds, and Lamarr Woodley. While some of these players are easy to filter out as ultimately being outside linebackers with the Steelers, those drafted late and not having an extensive NFL career make it a little bit more difficult to lock down an exact number of how many defensive lineman have been drafted by the Steelers since 2000.
But when it comes to players selected towards the top of the draft, it’s much easier to distinguish. First, to define what I feel as the “top of the draft,” I look at it as players who, in the current NFL draft set up, would be taken on Day 1 or Day 2. What this means is that I look at any player drafted in the third round or higher as being considered taken towards the top of the draft. I also look at it this way because, unless it is a compensatory draft pick in the third round, these players are taken in the top 100.
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