Steelers NFL Draft Facts and Figures:
Players drafted the highest by the Steelers:
Bill Dudley, RB, 1st overall pick in 1942
Terry Bradshaw, QB, 1st overall pick in 1970
* Gary Glick, DB, 1st overall pick in 1956 as a lottery bonus pick
Player drafted the latest by the Steelers:
Kelvin Kirk, WR, 487th overall in 1976 (17th Round)
Latest first round pick for the Steelers:
Ziggy Hood, DT, 32nd overall in 2009
Longest the Steelers had to wait to make a draft selection:
The team didn't have a pick until the 8th round of the NFL Draft on two occasions. In 1963, the Steelers selected Frank Atkinson with the 108th overall pick, while in 1959, the team selected Tom Barnett with the 91st overall pick.
Steelers first NFL Draft pick:
William Shakespeare, HB, 1st round pick in 1936 NFL Draft
Steelers last NFL Draft pick:
Donte Kent, CB, 7th round pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Quarterbacks drafted by the Steelers since the 1970 NFL Draft:
There have been a total of 27 quarterbacks drafted by the Steelers since the 1970 NFL Draft, including Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw and Hall of Honor member Ben Roethlisberger.
First quarterback drafted by the Steelers:
Len Barnum, QB, 2nd round pick in the 1936 NFL Draft, the 12th overall pick. Barnum was the first and only quarterback selected in the 1936 NFL Draft. Barnum never played a down for the Steelers.
Most picks in the NFL Draft in one year:
The Steelers had a total of 30 picks in multiple drafts, back when the draft went 30 rounds. In 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951 the Steelers used all 30 of their picks.
Fewest picks in the NFL Draft in one year:
The Steelers had five picks in the 2003 NFL Draft. The Steelers began that draft with a total of seven picks, but traded their first-round pick, third-round pick and sixth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs to move up and select future Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu with the 16th overall pick.
Future Hall of Famers the Steelers drafted:
While the Steelers have 29 members of the organization, a total of 16 of them were drafted by the team.
Colleges the Steelers have drafted the most players from:
University of Pittsburgh – 46
Notre Dame – 36
Penn State – 28
Florida, Ohio State and Purdue – 24
Total number of schools Steelers have drafted players from:
The total schools represented is 281. That number includes 108 schools who had only one player drafted by the Steelers, including local schools like Carnegie Mellon, Indiana (Pa.), Pitt-Johnstown, Saint Francis (Pa.), Saint Vincent and Washington & Jefferson.
Most specialists the Steelers selected in one draft class:
In 1978, the Steelers drafted punter Craig Colquitt in the third round and kicker Tom Jurich in the 10th round.
Steelers NFL Draft tidbits:
* The Steelers are a team that traditionally has built through the draft, and that is represented by the number of their Hall of Famers who were acquired through the NFL Draft. As noted above, the Steelers have drafted 16 of their 29 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Included in that group are Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Dermontti Dawson, Bill Dudley, Alan Faneca, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, John Henry Johnson, Jack Lambert, Troy Polamalu, John Stallworth, Ernie Stautner, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster and Rod Woodson.
* It's not always draft picks who find success with the Steelers. The team has found some gems as undrafted rookie free agents, including two who earned Hall of Fame honors. Both Jack Butler and Donnie Shell were undrafted by the Steelers, Butler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2012 and Shell in 2020.
* Since 1994, NFL teams have been awarded compensatory picks. The Steelers have received 39 compensatory picks, using multiple picks to select players who have or continue to make a huge impact on the team. In the 1998 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected receiver Hines Ward with a compensatory pick in the 3rd Round, the 92nd overall pick. Ward has been a semi-finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame from 2017-2026. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected linebacker Alex Highsmith with a compensatory pick in the 3rd Round, the 102nd overall pick. Highsmith's story is still being written for the Steelers, starting 79 of the 90 games he has played in so far and tallying 45 career sacks to date.
* The Steelers have found success with late round picks over the years, but one of the best late picks was linebacker Andy Russell. Russell was selected in the 16th round of the 1963 NFL Draft. Russell was a member of the Steelers inaugural Hall of Honor class in 2017. He was voted to the Pro Bowl seven times and was the Steelers MVP in 1971. He was a member of two Super Bowl championship teams (IX, X) before retiring after the 1976 season. He was a team captain 10 times during his career.
* Russell wasn't the only 16th round selection to make his mark on the Steelers. Running back Rocky Bleier was selected in the 16th round, the 417th overall pick of the 1968 NFL Draft. After his rookie season, Bleier was drafted into the United States Army, serving his country heroically in the Vietnam War where he was injured and earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After he returned to the team, Bleier went on to be a member of the Steelers four Super Bowl teams in the 1970s and was selected to the Steelers Hall of Honor in 2018.
* Gary Glick, the Steelers top pick in the 1956 NFL Draft as a lottery pick is the only defensive back to ever be selected first overall in the history of the NFL Draft, even though he was a lottery bonus pick.
* The Steelers selected Byron 'Whizzer' White in the first round of the 1938 NFL Draft. White is the only former NFL player to serve on the United States Supreme Court, while he was an Associate Justice from 1962-93. Three other NFL players have served on State Supreme Courts.
* Tackle John Kondria is the only player from Saint Vincent College, where the Steelers hold their training camp, to be drafted by the team. Kondria was selected by the Steelers in the 30th round of the 1945 NFL Draft, the 310th overall pick.
* William Shakespeare was the first player ever drafted by the Steelers. Shakespeare, who was an All-American halfback and punter at Notre Dame, was the Steelers first round pick in the 1936 NFL Draft, which was the first official NFL Draft. In those days football was not a high-paying endeavor, so Shakespeare opted for a business career rather than playing professional football and never played a down.
* Before Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll took over in 1969, the Steelers had a history of making trades when it came to the NFL Draft. Former Coach Buddy Parker reportedly had an 'aversion' to rookies, and traded away Steelers No. 1 pick five times between 1958-65. In addition, he traded the No. 2 pick four times, the No. 3 pick six times, the No. 4 and No. 5 pick seven times each, and the No. 6 pick six times. In both 1959 and 1963, the Steelers didn't have a pick until the eighth round of the draft.
