Mike Tomlin has finally succeeded in destroying Chuck Noll’s legacy that led to four Super Bowls, six overall: The draft is meaningless — first time in 53 years no first-round draft pick

Chuck Noll, Four Super Bowl Trophies
All because of the NFL Draft -- the day the Steelers have no first-rounder

… hard to envision the Steelers even winning their division in the future


Not since 1967 have the Steelers gone without a first-round draft pick. That was two years before Chuck Noll arrived, and Noll immediately made his presence felt in the first draft.

According to a tremendous biography of Noll by Michael MacCambridge, the new coach was the only one in the team’s scouting department who wanted to draft Greene, who went on to become a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame as one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time.

Over the next five years, Noll argued for establishing his super bowl teams by intelligent drafting. Terry Bradshaw was first in 1970, Franco Harris in 1972, and Lynn Swann in 1974 followed, and each is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

Five more picks from that era made the HF: Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, and John Stallworth.

This year, one more member will be inducted, the only one of that era who was not draft will be inducted: Donnie Shell.

After the Noll’s years, the team has won just two super bowls in the past 40 years. The two that they won were basically the result of some good draft picks.

Today, no first-rounder

Now, however, for the first time in 53 years, the Steelers will enter a draft without a first-round pick, and the coach who has led the team for 14 years has the audacity to say that not having a first-round pick is an asset,

For the first time in his 14-year head coaching career, Tomlin's Steelers will not have a first-round pick. It will also mark the first time that Tomlin -- and the rest of the NFL's coaches, for that matter -- will take part in a "virtual draft," as each team will navigate through the draft from remote locations in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

While not having a first-round pick has its obvious cons, Tomlin offered two reasons why he and the Steelers aren't sweating not having a first-round pick on Thursday night.

"It's gonna be a spectator's view," Tomlin said of the first round, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It's really a good opportunity for us to get comfortable with the organization of all of this in terms of how the draft is unfolding and how communication happens and trades of that nature. I think there's some unintended consequences or benefits of not having a first (round) pick from that perspective.

"And to be quite honest with you, I'm not fretting at all about not having a first round pick. That pick is Minkah FItzpatrick, and we've already benefited from his presence. And we're looking forward to continuing to do so."

Bryan DeArdo, “NFL Draft 2020: Mike Tomlin explains how not having a first-round pick may benefit the Steelers,” CBS Sports, April 21, 2020

Fitzpatrick was very solid trade

Kevin Colbert traded for Fitzpatrick, the first-round pick for the Miami Dolphins two years ago, after Tomlin’s team fell to 0-2 at the start of the 2019 season, and Tom Brady had eviscerated the defense in the opening game of the season,

In 14 games with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick, Miami's first-round pick in 2018, recorded five interceptions, two fumble recoveries 57 tackles, nine passes defensed, and a forced fumble while also scoring two defensive touchdowns. An All-Pro last season, Fitzpatrick helped the Steelers' defense finish third in the NFL in pass defense, fifth in scoring, sixth in red zone efficiency and ninth in third down efficiency.

With their first-round pick already spent, the Steelers -- who have the 49th, 102nd, 124th, 135th, 198th and 232nd picks in the draft -- will watch how the teams that are drafting in the first round navigate through the first-ever virtual draft.

Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports, April 21, 2020

Tomlin’s team will not even win its division in the near future

The Fitzpatrick trade did not save the season for the Steelers. Au contraire, and the defense, despite the belief of fans who never knew the Super Bowl era and the building of Steeler Nation in the 1970s, were calling it the second coming of The Steel Curtain.

How many future Super Bowl members are on the Steelers right now? Hard to tell with young players, but there are few. And even with those few, how many were drafted during Tomlin’s tenure?

In fact, with Lamar Jackson now the dominant force and the Ravens the dominant team, the Tomlin era may be ending quickly. He has a great regular-season record, but has won only a couple playoff games in the past decade.
I wish that I could be more optimistic, but with only two in the past 40 years and none in more than a decade, I have come to the realization that I will not see another one in my lifetime.

I will, however, always remember Chuck and the four in six years, all built by the draft.

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