The hope is to always catch lightning in a bottle in the NFL Draft, finding that player you can depend on for years to come.

In the 1998 NFL Draft, that happened for the Steelers. And not just once, but twice.

On this day in 1998, the Steelers selected guard Alan Faneca in the first round of the draft and followed that up with choosing receiver Hines Ward in the third round.

Faneca has since gone on to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor, while Ward is also a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor and should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day as well.

Faneca, a first team All-Pro selection an impressive six times (2001-02, 2004-07) and twice a second team selection (2003, 2008), was the Steelers first-round draft pick in 1998 and played 10 seasons for the black and gold (1998-2007), and 13 overall in the NFL (New York Jets 2008-09 and Arizona Cardinals 2010).

"His ability to play that position, dominate at that position, but be athletic enough to move around and travel from the standpoint of pulling as an offensive lineman was rare," said Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis. "Usually when you do it, it doesn't end in success. When Alan pulled, we had a tremendous amount of success with our ability to pull."
Faneca was a member of the Super Bowl XL Championship team, and during his time the Steelers won four division titles and won at least 10 games in five of his seasons. He was selected to nine Pro Bowls and was also named to Steelers All-Time Team in 2007 and the NFL 2000's All-Decade Team.

Faneca was a key to the Steelers ground game, blocking for teams that finished among the NFL's Top 10 in rushing 11 times, and blocking for nine 1,000-yard rushers and five 3,000-yard passers.

Ward, who has been a Hall of Fame semifinalist nine straight years, played 14 seasons for the Steelers.

He had 1,000 career receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. His versatility was always on display with his blocking ability a shining example of that.

"He was huge for me," said Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis. "What people don't understand is the significance of a receiver blocking because normally it's a downfield block. That is great. That extends the play from a 5-or 10-yard play to a 20- or 30-yard play, which is significant. But the rare wide receiver has the ability to impact the line of scrimmage, and that's what he was able to do.

"He was able to impact the line of scrimmage. That's what Hines Ward was able to do. He was able to block at the point of contact, which you never see happen as a wide receiver. He would be my lead blocker at times and that is rare for a wide receiver."

Ward was the MVP of Super Bowl XL after leading the Steelers to a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In three Super Bowls, Ward registered 14 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

The Steelers 2008 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee, Ward was named to four Pro Bowls (2002-05) and was a member of the teams 75th Season All-Time Team. Ward was selected by his teammates as the Steelers MVP three times in his career, including 2002 along with Joey Porter, 2003, and 2005 with Casey Hampton.