The latest in our annual exercise evaluating every draft pick, all 183 of them, made under former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert.
A reminder I offer each year to those unfamiliar with this process. My list is solely based off results. The rankings won’t consider the “why” a player thrived or failed with the team, and it’s only based off their Steelers career. This is a list about the Steelers’ best picks and the impact they had in Pittsburgh, not somewhere else. This is also a list of relativity. Meaning a seventh-round pick who failed isn’t as impactful as a first rounder who did.
If you’re looking for a deeper dive, here’s a link to all the articles I’ve written on Colbert’s draft classes. The original articles from 2022 contain detailed explanations for each pick. Below will outline the changes made for this year’s list.
#183. Senquez Golson – Rd. 2
#182. Alonzo Jackson – Rd. 2
#181. Fred Gibson – Rd. 4
#180. Danny Farmer – Rd. 4
#179. Kraig Urbik – Rd. 3
#178. Bruce Davis – Rd. 3
#177. Artie Burns – Rd. 1
#176. Orien Harris – Rd. 4
#175. Alameda Ta’amu – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#174. Dri Archer – Rd. 3
#173. Limas Sweed – Rd. 2
#172. Thaddeus Gibson – Rd. 4
#171. Nathaniel Adibi – Rd. 5
#170. Willie Reid – Rd. 3
#169. Kendrick Green – Rd. 3
#168. Ricardo Colclough – Rd. 2
#167. Doran Grant – Rd. 4
#166. Tony Hills – Rd. 4
#165. Ryan McBean – Rd. 4
#164. Mathias Nkwenti – Rd. 4
#163. Buddy Johnson – Rd. 4
#162. Jarvis Jones – Rd. 1
#161. Terry Hawthorne – Rd. 5
#160. Cameron Stephenson – Rd. 5
#159. Shaq Richardson – Rd. 5
#158. Charles Davis – Rd. 5
#157. Omar Jacobs – Rd. 5
#156. Wesley Johnson – Rd. 5
#155. Mike Adams – Rd. 2
#154. DeMarvin Leal – Rd. 3
#153. Joe Burnett – Rd. 4
#152. Sammie Coates – Rd. 3
#151. Devin Bush – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
#150. Colin Holba – Rd. 6
#149. Sutton Smith – Rd. 6
#148. Bo Lacy – Rd. 6
#147. Roger Knight – Rd. 6
#146. Mike Humpal – Rd. 6
#145. Jordan Zumwalt – Rd. 6
#144. Keith Williams – Rd. 6
#143. Drew Caylor – Rd. 6
#142. Marvin Philip – Rd. 6
#141. Jason Gavadza – Rd. 6
#140. Ra’Shon Harris – Rd. 6
#139. Quincy Roche – Rd. 6
#138. Travis Feeney – Rd. 6
#137. Kenny Pickett – Rd. 1
#136. Chris Scott – Rd. 5
#135. Brian St. Pierre – Rd. 5
#134. Shamarko Thomas – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#133. Chris Rainey – Rd. 5
#132. Anthony Smith – Rd. 3
#131. Frank Summers – Rd. 5
#130. Jerald Hawkins – Rd. 4
#129. Gerod Holliman – Rd. 7
#128. Chris Oladokun – Rd. 7
#127. Eric Taylor – Rd. 7
#126. Lavar Glover – Rd. 7
#125. Chris Taylor – Rd. 7
#124. Nick Williams – Rd. 7
#123. A.Q. Shipley – Rd. 7
#122. Shaun Nua – Rd. 7
#121. Rob Blanchflower – Rd. 7
#120. Toney Clemons – Rd. 7
#119. Cedric Humes – Rd. 7
#118. Doug Worthington – Rd. 7
#117. J.T. Wall – Rd. 7
#116. Josh Frazier – Rd. 7
#115. Terence Frederick – Rd. 7
#114. Keion Adams – Rd. 7
#113. Derwin Gray – Rd. 7
#112. Crezdon Butler – Rd. 5
#111. Anthony McFarland Jr. – Rd. 4
#110. Noah Herron – Rd. 7
#109. Tee Martin – Rd. 5
#108. Brian Allen – Rd. 5
#107. Chris Combs – Rd. 6
#106. Dallas Baker – Rd. 7
#105. Antoine Brooks Jr. – Rd. 5
#104. Matt Kranchick – Rd. 6
#103. Curtis Brown – Rd. 3
#102. Chris Carter – Rd. 5
#101. Rian Wallace – Rd. 5
#100. Justin Brown – Rd. 6
#99. Kendrick Clancy – Rd. 3
#98. Demarcus Ayers – Rd. 7
#97. Baron Batch – Rd. 7
#96. Carlos Davis – Rd. 7
#95. Isaiah Buggs – Rd .6
#94. Josh Dobbs – Rd. 4
#93. David Paulson – Rd. 7
#92. Pressley Harvin III – Rd. 7
#91. Sean Spence – Rd. 3
#90. L.T. Walton – Rd. 6
#89. Dennis Dixon – Rd. 5
#88. Hank Poteat – Rd. 3
#87. Daniel McCullers – Rd. 6
#86. Justin Layne – Rd. 3
#85. Ulysees Gilbert III – Rd. 6
#84. Chukky Okobi – Rd. 5
#83. Stevenson Sylvester – Rd. 5
#82. Tre Norwood – Rd. 7
#81. Isaiahh Loudermilk – Rd. 5 (Trade Up)
#80. Mark Robinson – Rd. 7
#79. Lee Mays – Rd. 6
#78. Marcus Allen – Rd. 5
#77. Ryan Mundy – Rd. 6
#76. Zach Gentry – Rd. 5
#75. Connor Heyward – Rd. 6
#74. Rodney Bailey – Rd. 6
#73. James Washington – Rd. 2
#72. Calvin Austin III – Rd. 4
#71. Ziggy Hood – Rd. 1
#70. Kevin Dotson – Rd. 3
#69. Jonathan Dwyer – Rd. 6
#68. Jaylen Samuels – Rd. 5
#67. Landry Jones – Rd. 4
#66. Benny Snell Jr. – Rd. 4
#65. Mason Rudolph – Rd. 3 (Trade Up)
#64. Verron Haynes – Rd. 5
#63. Daniel Sepulevda – Rd. 4 (Trade Up)
#62. David Johnson – Rd. 7
#61. Chase Claypool – Rd. 2
#60. Trai Essex – Rd. 3
#59. Anthony Chickillo – Rd. 6
#58. Sean Davis – Rd. 2
#57. Cortez Allen – Rd. 4
#56. Markus Wheaton – Rd. 3
#55. Keenan Lewis – Rd. 3
#54. Jesse James – Rd. 5
#53. Jason Worilds – Rd. 2
#52. Tyler Matakevich – Rd. 7
#51. Emmanuel Sanders – Rd. 3
#50. Rashard Mendenhall – Rd. 1
#49. Chris Kemoeatu – Rd. 6
#48. Matt Spaeth – Rd. 3
#47. Terrell Edmunds – Rd. 1
#46. Chukwuma Okorafor – Rd. 3
#45. Kendrell Bell – Rd. 2
#44. Dan Moore Jr. – Rd. 4
#43. Martavis Bryant – Rd. 4
#42. Willie Colon – Rd. 4
#41. James Conner – Rd. 3
#40. Chris Hope – Rd. 3
#39. Cameron Sutton – Rd. 3
#38. Bryant McFadden – Rd. 2
#37. George Pickens – Rd. 2
#36. Diontae Johnson – Rd. 3
#35. Kelvin Beachum – Rd. 7
#34. Najee Harris – Rd. 1
#33. Kendall Simmons – Rd. 1
#32. Bud Dupree – Rd. 1
#31. Pat Freiermuth – Rd. 2
#30. Plaxico Burress – Rd. 1
#29. Alex Highsmith – Rd. 3
#28. JuJu Smith-Schuster – Rd. 2
#27. Marcus Gilbert – Rd. 2
#26. Clark Haggans – Rd. 5
#25. Vince Williams – Rd. 6
#24. William Gay – Rd. 5
#23. Ryan Shazier – Rd. 1
#22. Javon Hargrave – Rd. 3
#21. Mike Wallace – Rd. 3
#20. Antwaan Randle El – Rd. 2
#19. Max Starks – Rd. 3
#18. Larry Foote – Rd. 4
#17. Stephon Tuitt – Rd. 2
#16. Marvel Smith – Rd. 2
#15. Brett Keisel – Rd. 7
#14. LaMarr Woodley – Rd. 2
#13. Santonio Holmes – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
#12. Le’Veon Bell – Rd. 2
#11. Lawrence Timmons – Rd. 1
#10. Ike Taylor – Rd. 4
#9. David DeCastro – Rd. 1
#8. Casey Hampton – Rd. 1 (Trade Down)
#7. Heath Miller – Rd. 1
#6. Maurkice Pouncey – Rd. 1
#5. Antonio Brown – Rd. 6
#4. Cam Heyward – Rd. 1
#3. T.J. Watt – Rd. 1
#2. Ben Roethlisberger – Rd. 1
#1. Troy Polamalu – Rd. 1 (Trade Up)
Analysis
There are fewer changes than last year, a trend that should continue the further out from Colbert’s tenure. We’ll start with the updated rankings for the 2022 class, the last under Colbert.
#154. DL/EDGE DeMarvin Leal (Minus-48 Spots)
#137. QB Kenny Pickett (Plus-One Spot)
#128. QB Chris Oladokun (Plus-One Spot)
#80. ILB Mark Robinson (Plus-Seven Spots)
#75. TE Connor Heyward (Minus-One Spot)
#72. WR Calvin Austin III (Plus-19 Spots)
#37. WR George Pickens (Plus-Three Spots)
Pickett and Oladokun moved up one spot due to Leal falling behind them, bumping the two up despite them not being on the roster last season. Leal is the biggest faller after injuring his neck a month into the season, finishing with just four tackles and zero sacks. Austin is the biggest riser of the list, moving up nearly 20 spots after a strong season as a receiver/returner. Pickens bumped up a little, though this will just about be his final spot after being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in May.
Now, takeaways from the overall list.
Biggest Risers
WR Calvin Austin III – No. 91 to No. 72 (Upward 19 Spots)
OT Dan Moore Jr. – No. 55 to No. 44 (Upward 11 Spots)
ILB Mark Robinson – No. 87 to No. 80 (Upward Seven Spots)
WR George Pickens – No. 40 to No. 37 (Upward Three Spots)
TE Pat Freiermuth – No. 34 to No. 31 (Upward Three Spots)
RB Najee Harris – No. 36 to No. 34 (Upward Two Spots)
DL Cam Heyward – No. 5 to No. 4 (Upward One Spot)
The further out from Colbert’s time, the less new data we get. Austin is the biggest mover with Dan Moore being the only other to climb double-digit spots following another season as the Steelers’ starting left tackle. Now in Tennessee, his future movement will be little or nothing. Mark Robinson climbs a bit, too, and will battle for his roster spot in 2025 to continue his ascent.
Freiermuth and Harris move a little bit. The higher up the list, the harder it is to climb. And Cam Heyward notably bumps up one spot, surpassing WR Antonio Brown for fourth on the list. Heyward’s historically good year for a 35-year-old interior lineman that pushes him into clearer future Hall of Fame status is enough to jump AB, who remains the best Day Three pick in Colbert’s history.
Biggest Fallers
DL/EDGE DeMarvin Leal – No. 106 to No. 154 (Downward 48 Spots)
CB Cam Sutton – No. 31 to No. 38 (Downward Seven Spots)
EDGE Alex Highsmith – No. 29 to No. 24 (Downward Five Spots)
Not as many players falling. Leal’s been noted and has the only dramatic drop. Sutton returned after a year away but struggled and won’t be back for a third act. Highsmith slips a bit after a quieter six-sack season impacted by injury. He returns to his No. 29 spot he occupied before the 2024 season.
We’ll revisit this list ahead of the 2026 season.
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