Who's our worst 1st round pick in last 20 years?

Did JJ have an medical issue with an organ coming out of college?

 

Burns pisses me off.

 

I don't understand what the ravens were crying about ... with their old GM. Newsome used to out draft us every year. Even his last draft, left them in a great position, to lose some seasoned vets and still be competitive. Imagine, if they had ours gm?

 

I do believe it was a back/neck problem.......can't remember and to lazy to look up.

 

I went Edwards all day and here is why. Even with the lack of production Jarvis still played a lot in 4 years and being a starter......I know I know he stunk. Edwards couldn't even last with us and that was a position of need in the worst way.

 

Terrell Edmund's has no business being on this list. He's already made 26 starts in his first 2 years. Sure he has zero play making ability and he's probably a career back up but he's still an NFL player. At the time he wasn't a bad pick. The other 3 guys were head scratchers when we took them.

Troy Edwards - 13th pick. 22 starts, played 7 years in the NFL. 203 receptions and had some special teams abilities

Artie Burns - 25th pick - 32 starts in almost 4 years. 4 INT's

Jarvis Jones - 17th pick - 35 starts in 4 seasons. 6 sacks, 4 FF, 2 INT's. out of the league in 4 years.

I'm giving the nod to Jones but IMO it's a 2 way tie w/ Jones and Burns. Edwards stuck around in the league for a while...while he had no business being a 1st round pick at least he played. Jones was out of the league and I suspect Burns will find a back up job somewhere once we cut him.

 

Edmunds plays below the line but he’s not nearly is bad as Jarvis Jones. Edmunds is a lot closer to burns than people probably want to admit

 

Might be worth mentioning the other probowl players taken in the 1st round after we made our pick...

1999 draft
Troy Edwards #13
Jevon Kearse #16
Damian Woody #17
Patrick Kearney #30
Al Wilson #31

2013 draft
Jarvis Jones #17
Eric Reid #18
Kyle Long
Tyler Eifert
Desmond Trufant
Xavier Rhodes
DeAndre Hopkins
Cordarrelle Patterson
Travis Frederick

2016 draft
Artie Burns #25
Xavien Howard #38


Looking at the draft results it's safe to say Burns probably doesn't deserve this prestigious award. the 2016 draft was not a good one over all and who should we have taken at that spot? The other two guys though...yikes. 2013 draft was loaded with talent and we still took Jones. SO yea Jones is the worst 1st rounder in a very long time.

 

spinal stenosis or narrowing of the spine..

 

I didn’t like it when they passed on Dan Marino for Gabe Rivera (seriously injured before season started), but that was more than 20 years back. I guess it’s Troy Edwards for me.

 

A highlight for Troy Edwards (the one and only) was the day he and Hines Ward nabbed a pair of Casey Hampton's undershorts and walked around the locker room with each standing in one of the legs..........without even stretching the fabric out a bit. That picture appeared in the Steelers Digest. Wish I still had a copy. That's it on Edwards, fortunately Hines went on to become one of the best Steeler players ever and I'd say a Top 5 Steeler Fan favorite.

 

Not sure about JJ, but many other players have had issues involving their organs from time to time.

 

I will go with Jarvis Jones because from day one his pick made no sense given his athletic abilities. Too slow, not strong enough...

 

I voted Burns because recently he has been used so sparingly we may never know how bad he is, but Jones on the other hand (from memory) played full time for most of his time with Steelers where his downsides were on full display, week after week. Neither have merited 1st round status.

 

Interesting note on the negative mindset of Steeler fans, why didn't the OP start a poll on the "Best" #1 pick in the last 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years? Although a small sampling of games played, Minkah would be right up there as the juxtaposed 2020 1st Rd pick. So he gets my vote for last 10 years.

Would have to split it by decades because Mean Joe would undoubtedly dominate an all time list.

 

You should blame Tomlin, he drafted him as a raw talent.

 

I just remember Edwards taking a huge penalty in punt coverage in the loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game in Jan, 2002. Instead of a booming punt that flipped the field, the Patriots got a punt return for a touchdown.

 

Jack was my favorite draft pick & was right about his talk with Swann.

 

Not al all close. Rashard had 3 petty good years here. Injuries limited him on his first and last year. He was not spectacular, but far from the other true busts poseted about here.

 

I do not ever see one pick setting someone back 8-10 years, possibly miffing on a QB, but it is a combination of miffs that sets your team back that far for that long.

 

Hey Vox Ferrum.

Maybe I got too pinpointed on that one position/instance. And yes, one position minus the QB spot, should be able to be serviced/compensated for in that case/position that I am presenting. However, I still stand by my point. When you do the math however, we really have not been able to fill that one spot with either, Jarvis or Bud, for yes, about 8 years now. Yes, Bud has/is having a good year. However, that is 1 out of 5 years. And not being pessimistic but the year is not over and I have already given him credit for this year (1/5).

I am looking at this as a Strong Complimentary Tandem of OLBs/Outside Pass Rushers situation. Historically, we have been able to fulfill that situation with two strong complimentary players. The last god combination OLBs manning Jarvis'/Bud's spot were LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, Jason Worlds, and maybe some others. Chime in if there are others. All much better than Jarvis and Bud. Worlds did take a little longer to develop and was on the cusp of possible greatness until he left.

More recent players that IMO that did not work out as well for whatever reasons are: Sean Spence, Arthur Moats, Anthony Chickillo, and maybe others. However, none of them were 1st Rounders.Take care my friend.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Uh... that was colbert.

 

I can see the point in this way. You expect your 1st round picks to produce significantly on the first contract, there is no doubt Bud did not produce to that level. Now the Steelers have to decide if they can (or want to invest) in a one year producer long term. That money will then be tied up, a year later having to invest even more into TJ. If it works you have a great combo, but have to invest less in other key positions, or hope you hit the draft lottery for those positions. They face the same decision with Hargrave. they have Tuitt who they just gave a contract to (but cannot stay on the field), a phenomenal Cam Heyward (though aging). I know its off track from the OP, every team has those decisions and I think this also comes into setting your team back years. Heck I really want to keep Bud, but at what cost? Will he a one year wonder who gets the money and never achieves this level again? Is his increased production also because of having an all pro on the opposite side and on the line, a highly productive rookie Lb beside him, and an unbelievable safety behind him?

 

As a footnote, Gabe was not seriously injured before the season started. His injury came after the 6th game. There is really only speculation of what he could have been in the NFL. He was really just starting to come into his game. He was a one man wrecking crew in college, and as great as a career as Marino he only made it to one SB is rookie year.

 

I do not have the exact stats, but I heard one commentator say 1/3 of all first rounds picks could be classified as busts, 1/2 as underachievers. That might have just been his take, and yes we have had our share, but every NFL team could have a list like this...some even worse.