Steelers' 3 best, 3 worst QB draft picks in Kevin Colbert era

Editor’s note: This NFL Draft will be the 20th under the eye of Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert. His two-decade tenure has produced two Super Bowls and a consistent playoff contender. Colbert’s drafts mostly reflect that. Like all NFL personnel men, though, he’s had some picks he’d like to have back. In conjunction with the Trib’s daily positional previews leading up to the April 25 start of the draft, we’ll look back at Colbert’s three best – and three worst – picks at each position.

Three best

1.Ben Roethlisberger

2004, 1st round, 11th overall

The Steelers, in some ways, lucked into having Roethlisberger — considered the third-best quarterback of a top-heavy draft at the position — fall to No. 11 overall, which was the highest they picked the past three decades.

2. Mason Rudolph

2018, 3rd round, 76th overall

This is based more on potential than on concrete results. And Rudolph’s high ranking is an indictment of the lack of good quarterbacks the Steelers have taken during Colbert’s tenure. But Rudolph spent much of the predraft process as part of the first-round conversation, so to get him that low was something of a coup.

3. Landry Jones

2014, 4th round, 115th overall

Jones gets the nod over Josh Dobbs, Brian St. Pierre and Dennis Dixon based starting more NFL games (five) than those three combined. Jones was, at best, an adequate No. 2 QB. That’s all the Steelers needed him to be.

Three worst

1. Omar Jacobs

2006, 5th round, 164th overall

The tales of how poorly Jacobs performed at his rookie training camp still persist at Saint Vincent. Jacobs was so bad, the Steelers didn’t bother to keep him on their practice squad.

2. Tee Martin

2000, 5th round, 163rd overall

That Martin flamed out (no regular-season passes thrown for the Steelers, no NFL starts) isn’t egregious for a late-round draft pick. What makes the selection of Martin live in Steelers infamy is Tom Brady was taken 36 picks later.

3. Dennis Dixon

2008, 5th round, 156th overall

Similar to Jones slotting in at No. 3, Dixon is here mostly by default. With only three quarterbacks left to choose from, it wouldn’t be fair to label Dobbs so early in his career and St. Pierre lasted a little longer in the league than Dixon, starting a game in his eighth season.

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