Steelers Throwback Thursday: Revisiting the 2014 draft class
Steel City Underground takes fans back in time to feature events, special moments, and historical times and players in the world of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. Join us as we revisit these moments in our “Steelers Throwback Thursday” series.
In this week’s column, it’s time to rewind the clocks one decade and revisit the Pittsburgh Steelers 2014 draft class. By the end of the 2013 season, it was clear that the Steelers were a team in rebuild mode. Several long-time starters had moved on and Pittsburgh was trying to find suitable replacements throughout their roster.
The previous two seasons yielded 8-8 records with the organization missing the playoffs. The often criticized Todd Haley was on a hot seat, entering his third season as the team’s offensive coordinator. Online casinos like those featured on casinos.com didn’t give the Steelers the greatest odds to break their latest drought.
However, the 2014 NFL Draft would see the organization add major contributors that would finally get them back into the postseason, as well as host a home playoff game for the first time since the 2010 season.
The Steelers would surprise everyone by using their 15th overall selection on Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier. The Shazier pick, like many throughout most draft “report cards” was mixed. Some felt that Shazier wouldn’t transition well to playing a 3-4 inside linebacker while saying he should play safety in the pros.
In selecting Shazier, the Steelers passed on another inside linebacker, C.J. Mosley, who would fall to their rival Baltimore Ravens two picks later.
Other players linked to the Steelers and later selected in the first round were S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (pick 21, Green Bay) and CB Darqueze Dennard (pick 24, Cincinnati). A large receiver out of Florida State, Kelvin Benjamin, was another mock draft favorite to land with Pittsburgh but would be chosen by the Carolina Panthers with pick 28.
Other favorites to be targeted by the Steelers in this draft wouldn’t make it to their spot at pick 15, including WR Mike Evans (pick 7, Tampa Bay), DT Aaron Donald (pick 13, St. Louis Rams), and CB Kyle Fuller (pick 14, Chicago).
As we now know, Shazier was a key component for the Steelers defense. He would play four seasons, starting in Dick LeBeau‘s final season as the team’s defensive coordinator. Under Keith Butler, Shaizer would be named to the Pro Bowl in his final two years before his career was cut tragically short due to injury.
The Steelers second-round pick in this draft came at 46 overall. They would select Notre Dame defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who would become a bookend for the defense for the next several years. Tuitt would fill a major need for a team that lost Pro Bowl DE Aaron Smith, who also had his career cut short due to injuries, and provide the future behind aging DE Brett Kiesel.
In the third round, the Steelers would make one of their most criticized picks in the history of their drafts, taking Kent State RB/WR Dri Archer. Archer, the fastest player in his draft class, was considered too small to take on the rigors of the NFL.
Unfortunately, that criticism was well met, and the attempt to add a gadget player to Haley’s offense failed. Archer would last only two seasons in Pittsburgh, appearing in 20 games. He would fail to register any offensive statistics in his second season and never appeared for another team.
The Steelers front office would make up for gaff in the next round, snagging Clemson receiver Martavis Bryant with the 118th pick overall.
Bryant’s off-field issues are well-documented and kept the talented receiver from ever achieving a 1,000-yard season. Regardless, he rose to superstardom quickly in Pittsburgh. He scored 8 touchdowns in only 10 games as a rookie and was a major weapon throughout three seasons, including a 13-3 Steelers run in 2017.
The remaining draft picks are mostly afterthoughts as we examine the fifth-round picks and beyond. CB Shaquille Richardson and OL Wesley Johnson were taken in that round, with Richardson failing to make the team and Johnson moving over to the Jets for a solid career from 2015 to 2018, starting 24 games in New York as a center and offensive tackle.
UCLA linebacker Jordan Zumwalt, selected in round six, would be snake-bitten with injuries that never saw him truly compete for a roster spot for the next few seasons. He would fail to play a down of football for the Steelers.
His sixth-round draft mate, Daniel McCullers, would carve out a niche and hang around the league through the 2020 season. The 6-7, 352 lbs. defensive tackle played six seasons for the Steelers as a reserve player and mainly contributed on special teams.
The Steelers final pick at 230th overall in the seventh round would be UMASS tight end Rob Blanchflower. Blanchflower was part of a trend of adding late round players to the tight end group as the team still relied on franchise great Heath Miller as their starter. The Steelers chose David Paulson with pick 240 two years earlier, but Blanchflower would fail to replace him and both players were off of the main roster to start the 2014 season.
Blanchflower would return to the practice squad and attempt to make the 2015 main roster the following season, but would be out of football following that year’s training camp.
