Steelers' Kevin Colbert Named One of Best Drafting GMs in NFL
Drafting for the Pittsburgh Steelers has always been a thing of beauty.
The NFL Draft presents itself as an annual puzzle that fans and media try to piece together yearly. In a three-day stretch that's vastly more entertaining than anything the Kardashian's may be up to, professional football's seven-round disco inferno again looks to be nothing less than intriguing and entertaining.
While people such as you and I will eagerly wait to see who will be available for the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick number 24 in the 2021 NFL Draft, general manager Kevin Colbert will also be subjected to see what leftovers are given by the teams picking ahead.
Colbert has long been heralded as one of the better general managers in the NFL, first taking over the role for the Steelers in 2000 and establishing a well-polished track record since.
In fresh general manager rankings ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft - solely based on how they use their draft capital - NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal ranked Colbert as the league's second-best general manager when it comes to properly drafting.
"For the purposes of this column, I only went back to 2015 and I did not include the nine GMs who have run one draft or less," said Rosenthal in the piece.
The sole general manager ranked ahead of Colbert is Indianapolis' Chris Ballard, and with his recent draft success, it's hard to argue against Ballard on the throne.
Rosenthal on Colbert as the second-best general manager in the NFL Draft:
"Colbert never finished below third in my previous iterations of the GM Power Rankings, and the new parameters in this year's exercise doesn't change his standing. His first-round picks since 2015 include T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree, as well as one used to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Colbert's legendary run of drafting wideouts has continued apace, with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool in the last six years, none in the top 45 picks. Even his poor drafts, such as in 2016, usually have a gem (Javon Hargrave), while classes like the Steelers' 2020 group (included starters Kevin Dotson , Alex Highsmith and Claypool) are a regular occurrence.
Colbert's draft record is the biggest reason why the Steelers have the third-most wins in the NFL since he became the team's GM in 2010. His place this high despite some lost drafts (2018) is also a sign there's not that much separating the best drafting teams and the middle of the pack."
Rosenthal also named T.J. Watt as Colbert's best pick in the previous five years, with Senquez Golson ranking as his worst.
Donnie Druin is a Deputy Editor with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
