DraftHistory.com

DraftHistory.com is the premier site for historical information on the Pro Football College Draft. Submit articles, suggestions for improvement and errata to: Chris Malumphy at cmalumphy@earthlink.net.

Tuesday, February 04, 2003

1974 Steelers’ Draft Greatest Ever

Several DraftHistory.com visitors have asked which team had the all-time best draft. Evaluating drafts is a subjective task. Is it better to get one superstar or two or three solid performers? Notwithstanding such philosophical meanderings, one simplistic method is to take a look at those drafts that produced Hall of Fame players. The table below lists every individual selected to the Hall. A few drafts quickly stand out.

In 1974 the Pittsburgh Steelers hit the motherload when they selected four future Hall of Fame players: wide receiver Lynn Swan in round 1, linebacker Jack Lambert in round 2, wide receiver John Stallworth in round 4 and center Mike Webster in round 5. No other draft has produced more than two Hall of Famers. If they had only selected one more, they might have "Won One for the Thumb."

Teams have selected two Hall of Famers in a single draft a dozen times. Perhaps the best draft among those occurred in 1965 when the Chicago Bears seleted linebacker Dick Butkus and halfback Gale Sayers with the 3rd and 4th picks in the first round. Unlike, the Steelers, however, the Bears would never capitalize on their good fortune and never made the playoffs with those two greats.

The 1970 Steelers' again made the list of multiple Hall of Fame draftees with quarterback Terry Bradshaw, the first pick in the entire draft, and 3rd round selection defensive back Mel Blount. The Steelers good fortunes carried over several years in that era beginning with the selection of Mean Joe Greene in 1969 and including linebacker Jack Ham in 1971 and running back Franco Harris in 1972. In all the Steelers picked nine Hall of Famers during a six year period, missing only in 1973. Whoever headed their draft department during those years deserves a place in the Hall himself.

In 1964 both the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys picked a pair of future Famers. Washington took Charley Taylor in round one, initially to be a running back, but later to become, at least momentarily, the all-time leading receiver, and defensive back Paul Krause, one of the great ball hawks, in round two. The Cowboys countered with defensive back Mel Renfro, who was picked directly before Krause, and Heisman trophy winning Quarterback Roger Staubach who lasted until round 10 due to his commitment to the Navy.

The Kansas City Chiefs formed the basis of their stellar defense with the selections of defensive tackle Buck Buchanan and linebacker Bobby Bell in 1963.

The Green Bay Packers tabbed both fullback Jim Taylor and middle linebacker deluxe Ray Nitschke in the 1958 draft.

In 1945, the Rams selected a pair of receivers that probably surpassed Swan and Stallworth when they chose Elroy Crazylegs Hirsch and Tom Fears.

The 1936 Bears, in the first draft ever, demonstrated how the draft should work by selecting tackle Joe Stydahar and guard Danny Fortman.

The Giants showed they could evaluate defensive talent in 1947 when they selected defensive back Tom Landry (who was really elected to the Hall based on his coaching prowess) and defensive tackle, and funnyman, Art Donavan.

In 1953 the Browns followed suit by drafting defensive lineman Doug Atkins, who became a star with the Bears, and linebacker-guard Chuck Noll (who rose to prominence as the coach of the mighty Steelers teams).

Thus far, more Hall of Famers were selected in 1957 than in any other year. The Browns and the Eagles both had multiple picks. Cleveland took the greatest running back ever when it selected Jim Brown with the sixth selection in the draft after the Steelers beat them to Quarterback Len Dawson. The Browns also selected defensive tackle Henry Jordan who was soon traded to Green Bay where he became a stalwart on several championship teams. The Eagles helped build a strong passing game by drafting wide receiver Tommy McDonald and quarterback Sonny Jurgensen.

While the selection of Hall of Famers is by no means the only way to evaluate a draft, few could argue that the picks of the Steelers in 1974 must be rated as the best of the class.