The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have a General Manger. On draft day they turn to Kevin Colbert who is their Director of Football Operations. Before coming to the Pittsburgh operation he was an advanced scout for the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. While he was with the Lions that team made the playoffs five times. He is credited with helping to build the team that won Super Bowl XL. Even without many draft picks in the top half of the first round he has hit a number of home runs in the draft.
Since 2006 every first round pick he has made has developed into a starter. The only place he seems to have trouble is in round number four. In that round he has a number of draft busts, but has more than made up for it with the excellent selections made before. His 2010 class produced seven rookies who all made the 53 man roster. This is a guy who sticks to his draft board, and tries to draft the highest rated player and will rarely reach for a player. He does not like to draft small school guys in the first three rounds.
Over the last five years he has made 45 draft picks and just 10 currently play for other teams and seven are out of the NFL. Of course five of those who are out come from his 2006 class which is his only substandard draft in this time period. The Steelers have a system in place, and they are very good at finding guys who fits said system.
Related Links:
- Pittsburgh Steelers War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com