Throwback Thursday: Most recent Steelers draft pick in Top 10
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 in our “Steelers Throwback Thursday” series as we revisit these moments.
It could be argued that the measurement of a team’s overall success in the National Football League is how often they get to select a player in the top in the NFL Draft; consistently good teams traditionally select much later than picks 1-10 overall. Yes, there are exceptions – like teams swapping picks or players in order to move up in the draft – but it’s not considered the norm. The Pittsburgh Steelers last had a ‘Top 10’ pick in 2000. That player would go on, interestingly enough, to take the No. 10 all-time franchise receiving record.
Steelers’ 1999 season
As the only team in the NFL since 1940 to give up five safeties in a single season, the Steelers were an utter disappointment in 1999. The team kicked off the season by winning five of their first eight games before things fell apart. They finished 6-10, posting the worst record under Bill Cowher as head coach, ranked last in the AFC Central, and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars won the division (14-2 win-loss record) while the Cincinnati Bengals (4-12) and Cleveland Browns (2-14) were the only two teams to finish with worse records than Pittsburgh.
The back-to-back seasons of 1998 and 1999 landed the Steelers into a type of football purgatory. Their hopes were on improving their chances in 2000 by utilizing their earlier NFL Draft pick order. General manager Tom Donahoe was replaced by Kevin Colbert.
The selection
Pittsburgh wanted to improve their offense, and with the 8th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, they selected receiver Plaxico Burress of Michigan State.
| 2000 Pittsburgh Steelers draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Pos | College | Note |
| 1 | 8 | Plaxico Burress | WR | Michigan State | |
| 2 | 38 | Marvel Smith | OT | Arizona State | |
| 3 | 72 | Kendrick Clancy | DT | Miss | |
| 3 | 77 | Hank Poteat | CB | Pitt | From Raiders |
| 4 | 103 | Danny Farmer | WR | UCLA | |
| 5 | 137 | Clark Haggans | OLB | Colorado State | |
| 5 | 163 | Tee Martin | QB | Tenn | Comp pick |
| 6 | 173 | Chris Combs | DE | Duke | |
| 6 | 204 | Jason Gavadza | TE | Kent State | Comp pick |
Burress spent five seasons with the Steelers. In 71 games, he caught 261 passes for 4,164 yards and 22 touchdowns. His rookie season was a bit of a learning curve and was documented on the MTV show True Life.
Making his mark in Steelers history
Burress truly broke out for Pittsburgh during the 2002 NFL season. The receiver set a career high with 78 receptions and 1,325 yards (7 touchdowns). As he had in 2001, Burress joined Hines Ward in 2002 to give Pittsburgh their first duo of 1,000-yard receivers.
Burress secured his spot among the Steelers franchise’s all-time reception leaders by taking the tenth spot behind Franco Harris, Le’Veon Bell, Elbie Nickel, Lynn Swann, Louis Lipps, John Stallworth, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown, and Hines Ward.
