It’s widely known that the Pittsburgh Steelers are without a first-round draft pick in 2020 and only one selection in the first 101 picks.
This isn’t the first draft in the 87 years of the franchise that they don’t have a first-round pick, but you have to go back 57 years to 1967.
The drafts in which the Steelers haven’t had a first-round pick are 1967, 1965, 1963, 1961, 1959, 1958, 1941, and 1939. And although the draft had many more rounds than today — anywhere from 17-32 rounds — those years were not kind to the Steelers.
The Steelers’ record in those years combined was 32-68-8. Obviously, the NFL has changed dramatically since then and so has the organization.
Pittsburgh is generally pretty quiet in free agency with its eyes are focused on building through the draft. With only six picks this season, the team needs more hits than misses.
From an Asked and Answered with Bob Labriola of Steelers.com, general manager Kevin Colbert had this to say about trading back into the first round:
“We will never say we won’t trade into any given round or trade out of one. I think it’s highly unlikely that we could come up with any type of package to get back into the first round, and quite honestly, we are very comfortable not having a first-round pick, especially when it is in the form of Minkah Fitzpatrick replacing our first-round pick. Under the current circumstances (caused by the global pandemic), the uncertainty you might have not having all the information (on players) you have had in the past, I am a lot more comfortable knowing we got an All-Pro player with that pick. I am not real concerned about getting back in there because there is good depth in this draft. I feel good about who we can get in the second round and beyond.”
It’s Labriola’s belief that the Steelers will not attempt to trade into the first round, as the team would have to surrender a No. 1 in 2021 and “the franchise is adamantly opposed to getting into the business of trading away future draft picks”. Labriola predicts that they will stay at No. 49 and take a shot at an offensive playmaker.
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