Steelers Best Draft Picks Series - 7th Round

With the NFL Draft approaching in the spring, it's time to reflect on the yellow and black. The Steelers want to add younger and hungrier talent to a team that vastly disappointed fans in the closing moments of the 2024 campaign. But will they add some "steels" to their team?

The Steelers have had 84 seventh-round picks in the past, and in this article, we'll review the five of the bunch. Five of the best got picked after the rest. Let's do it!

#5: LB Tyler Matakevich (2016-2019, 2024)

81 total tackles, 1 pass defense, 1 blocked punt

With the 246th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected a linebacker out of Temple. "Dirty Red," while primarily a special teams player, is a friendly and familiar face for Steeler fans. In his first stint, he would make an AFC Championship appearance in his rookie year and block a punt in a week one matchup versus the Browns, which led to a touchdown and a win in 2017. After letting him walk, the Bills picked him up, where he would spend four seasons. But the former Owl would return to Pittsburgh in 2024 off a one-year deal. With his contract up, will he return another year, or will Pittsburgh let him walk again?

#4: OT Kelvin Beachum (2012-2015)

44 games played, 19 sacks allowed

With the 248th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected an offensive tackle from SMU. Beachum would spend four seasons in Pittsburgh with 39 starts. In addition to 19 sacks allowed, he also allowed 14 QB hits, 49 hurries, and 82 pressures off 2,649 snaps during his time in the Steel City—a solid few seasons in Pittsburgh for the former Mustang. Entering the final year of his contract, the Steelers would offer an extension but declined. Since his departure, he's played with the Jaguars and Jets and has been playing for former Super Bowl 43 opponents with the Arizona Cardinals since 2020.

#3: LB Carlos Emmons (1996-1999)

138 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, 2 ints, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries

With the 242nd overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected a linebacker out of Arkansas State. Emmons would spend four seasons with the Steelers with 51 games and 30 starts and even went to the Super Bowl in his rookie year. After his four-season stint with Pittsburgh, the former Red Wolf would spend four years in Philly, where he won team defensive MVP in 2003, and three in New York with the Giants, where he would spend his last years before having career-ending back surgery in early 2007.

#2: LB David Little (1981-1992)

10 int, 11 fumble recoveries, 9 sacks (no record of tackles)

With the 183rd overall pick, the Steelers selected a linebacker from Florida. Little would spend his entire career in a Steelers jersey for 12 years. It's an impressive career where the former Gator once started 89 games in a row and made a Pro Bowl appearance in 1990. 179 games, 125 starts later, and Little is one of the best seventh-round picks in Steelers history. Tragically, Little died due to a weightlifting accident in 2005; he was only 46. Rest in peace to a legendary player.



#1: DL Brett Keisel (2002-2014)

408 total tackles, 33 TFL, 30 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 9 fumble recoveries, 2 int, 1 defensive TD

Was it really gonna be anyone else? With the 242nd overall pick, the Steelers selected a defensive lineman out of BYU. Da Beard was a legendary player and a big part of the defense's 2000s success with two Super Bowl titles. Twelve seasons (missed the 2003 season for surgery) where opposing QBs learned to fear the beard. After his retirement in 2015, the former Cougar would use his wealth and success for charitable foundations. A true man of honor on and off the field and the best seventh-round pick in Steelers history!