In 1936, Bill Shakespeare was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were then known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, with their first-round selection
Shakespeare—unrelated to the well-known playwright—played a decent football game for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and, according to the Associated Press in 1969, tossed the game-winning touchdown pass in the “Game of the Century” marking the first 100 years of collegiate football history.
Being the first draft pick in Pittsburgh history delighted him to such an extent that he turned down the opportunity to play for the team and instead pursued a career in business.
Though it was the first time, it would not be the last when the top overall pick of the Steelers would not pan out. In NFL history, Pittsburgh has produced some of the best picks. Five future Hall of Fame players were selected by Dan Rooney, Chuck Noll, Bill Nunn, and Dick Haley between 1969 and 1973. In the best NFL draft ever held in 1974, they selected four Hall of Fame players and added a fifth, undrafted free agent Donnie Shell.
The Steelers have four pressing needs they must attempt to fill starting on April 25th. Pittsburgh needs starting-caliber players at the center, tackle, cornerback, and wide receiver.
There has been much speculation about who Omar Khan, Andy Weidl, and Mike Tomlin might target in the first round. Pittsburgh has rarely spent a first-round pick on the offensive line and has drafted more fullbacks (7) than tackles and centers combined (6) in the first round.
Here is the Steelers’ 87-year history of targeting the 2024 four positions of need early in the draft.
Most Successful – 1992: Bill Cowher and Tom Donahoe selected Leon Searcy with the 11th pick overall. Most Recent – 2023: Khan and Weidl selected Broderick Jones as their first selection in an NFL Draft. The Steelers have selected five offensive tackles in the first round in franchise history and have never had a tackle selected as a First Team All-Pro. Will Jones be the one who finally gets the nod?
Searcy played right tackle in Super Bowl XXX and was a four-year Pittsburgh resident. Following the 1995 season, Searcy signed a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he played for one Pro Bowl and was named to the second team of the league in his final season.
Biggest Bust: In 1996, Cowher and Donahoe chose to select Jamain Stephens, the 29th choice in the 1996 draft, as their replacement for the departing Searcy. In his two seasons with the Steelers, Stephens started eleven games. After his second season, Pittsburgh was so satisfied with his ability that they traded him to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he started four games over the course of three seasons.
Most Recent: In 2016, Artie Burns was the sole cornerback selected in the first round by Kevin Colbert. Since then, the Steelers have refrained from entering the cornerback draft in the first round. In the first round of the twenty-first century, he is the only player in the position that Pittsburgh has selected.
Most Successful: 1987: Selecting a Hall of Fame player in the first round is about as good as it gets. Rod Woodson, who the Steelers selected with the tenth choice in the 1987 draft, was everything and more that they could have asked for. Along with Deion Sanders and fellow Steelers great Mel Blount, he is among the best three cornerback in NFL history.
Biggest Bust – 2016: The Steelers drafted ten cornerbacks in the 20th century; all but Art Davis (1956), who retired after two seasons due to a career-ending knee injury, and Bobby Gage (1949), who left the NFL for a better position at a textile company, had successful NFL careers. The aforementioned Burns was a complete bust and a sign of the roster decay that began in Colbert’s final 10 years in office.
Leave a Reply