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Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert announced earlier in the year his intention to step down from his role after the 2022 NFL Draft. Now that the draft has taken place, Colbert’s time as general manager of the Steelers has ended.
He has spent the last 22 years with the Steelers, first as Director of Football Operations from 2000 to 2010, and the first, and so far the only, general manager of the Steelers since 2010.
Colbert was instrumental in drafting some of the best players in franchise history. He was pivotal in building two Super Bowl-winning teams that won Super Bowl XL and XLIII with him as general manager. Here are five of the most successful draft picks during Kevin Colbert’s tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager.
#5 - Maurkice Pouncey, C, 2010
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Maurkice Pouncey was drafted by Colbert and the Steelers with their first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He would go on to become arguably the best center of his generation.
Pouncey played in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2020 and made the Pro Bowl nine times in his 11 NFL seasons. He was named a first-team All-Pro three times: in 2011, 2012, and 2014.
Pouncey was a home-run pick for the team. With fellow offensive lineman David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva, he would form excellent protection for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and create plenty of running lanes for Le’Veon Bell and, later, James Conner.
Pouncey announced his retirement from the NFL in February 2021 and will surely be a Pro Football Hall of Famer one day.
#4 - T.J. Watt, LB, 2017
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected linebacker T.J. Watt, brother of J.J. Watt, out of Wisconsin with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. So far, T.J. has more than repaid the faith shown in him by general manager Kevin Colbert. Since being drafted, Watt has been a pillar of the team's defense and has been selected to four Pro Bowls in his five NFL seasons.
Watt also took home NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2021 after tying Michael Strahan’s NFL season sack record with 22.5 quarterback takedowns. He has led the league in sacks, TFLs, and quarterback hits over the last two years, and the Steelers seem to have found the star of their defense for years to come.
#3 - Antonio Brown, WR, 2010
In the same draft Pittsburgh picked Maurkice Pouncey, the team hit another home run when they drafted wide receiver Antonio Brown in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. Brown was an immediate special teams standout before becoming the best wide receiver of his generation.
Brown had six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2013 to 2018 and was the favorite target for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He was also named to seven Pro Bowls.
Brown was named a first-team All-Pro for four consecutive years and led the NFL in receiving yards twice. Despite off-field controversies, both during and after his time in Pittsburgh, Brown was a fantastic player and a remarkable draft selection by Colbert.
#2 - Troy Polamalu, S, 2003
Strong safety Troy Polamalu was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and was a pivotal part of the Pittsburgh team that won two Super Bowls in four years. Polamalu was a hard-hitting lynchpin of Pittsburgh’s defense and was voted to eight Pro Bowls during his career.
He was also named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and was voted into the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
Polamalu was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February 2020 and will undoubtedly go down as one of Kevin Colbert’s best draft selections of all time.
#1 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, 2004
A year after Polamalu’s selection in the first round, Kevin Colbert and owner Dan Rooney hit another home run selection when they drafted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from the University of Miami (Ohio) with the 11th overall selection in 2004. Big Ben would be the starting quarterback for Pittsburgh from 2004 until announcing his retirement following the 2021 season.
Roethlisberger led the team to two Super Bowl titles in the first five years of his career, and this was after starting his rookie season with an astonishing 13-0 record.
Big Ben would end his career with six Pro Bowl nods and lead the NFL in passing yards twice. He threw for 418 touchdowns, passed for 64,088 yards, and will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection.
