The NFL's inaugural draft – or as it was known back then, The Annual Selection Meeting – was held in 1936, and that means the Steelers have participated in 80 of these exercises so far. This series will look at the best of the all-time Steelers' draft picks, based on the round the players were selected.
Today's installment looks at the history of Round 7:
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1951 Ray Mathews: In the 1952-53 seasons, Mathews rushed for 575 yards, caught passes for 889, returned punts and kickoffs for 525 and 694, respectively. He also scored 11 touchdowns. Mathews was one of the teams offensive stars throughout the 1950s, and in the franchises first-ever win over the Cleveland Browns, in 1954 by 55-27, Mathews scored four touchdowns.
1951 Ray Mathews: In the 1952-53 seasons, Mathews rushed for 575 yards, caught passes for 889, returned punts and kickoffs for 525 and 694, respectively. He also scored 11 touchdowns. Mathews was one of the teams offensive stars throughout the 1950s, and in the franchises first-ever win over the Cleveland Browns, in 1954 by 55-27, Mathews scored four touchdowns.
1951 Ray Mathews: In the 1952-53 seasons, Mathews rushed for 575 yards, caught passes for 889, returned punts and kickoffs for 525 and 694, respectively. He also scored 11 touchdowns. Mathews was one of the teams offensive stars throughout the 1950s, and in the franchises first-ever win over the Cleveland Browns, in 1954 by 55-27, Mathews scored four touchdowns.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1961 Dick Hoak: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the teams long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
1989 D.J. Johnson: He was no Rod Woodson, but Johnson was a competent starting cornerback for the Steelers during a four-season span in which he recorded 11 interceptions. After leaving the Steelers as a free agent after the 1993 season, Johnson played five more seasons with Arizona and Atlanta.
1989 D.J. Johnson: He was no Rod Woodson, but Johnson was a competent starting cornerback for the Steelers during a four-season span in which he recorded 11 interceptions. After leaving the Steelers as a free agent after the 1993 season, Johnson played five more seasons with Arizona and Atlanta.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
2002 Brett Keisel: Its very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel has 29 career sacks and 32 passes batted at the line of scrimmage to date. Two Super Bowl rings.
1951 – RAY MATHEWS**: In the 1952-53 seasons, Mathews rushed for 575 yards, caught passes for 889, returned punts and kickoffs for 525 and 694, respectively. He also scored 11 touchdowns. Mathews was one of the team's offensive stars throughout the 1950s, and in the franchise's first-ever win over the Cleveland Browns – in 1954 by 55-27 – Mathews scored four touchdowns.
1961 – DICK HOAK: Remembered by this generation of Steelers fans as the team's long-time running backs coach, Hoak could play a little bit of halfback himself in his day. Hoak rushed for 3,965 yards and caught passes for another 1,452 to score 33 touchdowns over 10 NFL seasons for teams that finished over .500 just twice. Played for Chuck Noll and coached with him. Five Super Bowl rings, all as a coach.
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1989 – D.J. JOHNSON**: He was no Rod Woodson, but Johnson was a competent starting cornerback for the Steelers during a four-season span in which he recorded 11 interceptions. After leaving the Steelers as a free agent after the 1993 season, Johnson played five more seasons with Arizona and Atlanta.
2002 – BRETT KEISEL: It's very rare for a human being to stand 6-foot-5, weigh 285 pounds, and be as athletic as Brett Keisel. During the seasons in which Keisel learned to be a 3-4 defensive end, he contributed on special teams, often in dynamic fashion. As a rookie, Keisel was so disruptive covering kickoffs as a big, powerful, athletic guy who could cover a lot of ground in a short period of time that before Super Bowl XL – during the pregame warm-ups when the respective special teams coaches got together to chat – Seattle's Bob Casullo remarked to Pittsburgh's Kevin Spencer that watching Keisel cover kickoffs on video was an awesome sight. A full-time starter beginning in 2006, Keisel ended up playing 12 seasons during which he started 114 of the 156 games in which he played. He finished with 30 sacks, 37 passes defensed, seven forced fumbled and nine fumble recoveries. Keisel also played in 16 playoff games, with eight starts, and he added three more sacks in the postseason. Keisel was voted to the 2010 Pro Bowl. Two Super Bowl rings.
Who's on your Steelers #UltimateDraft board? Vote now for your chance to win great prizes!
NEXT: Round 6
