There have been a lot of complaints recently among both Steelers fans and Pittsburgh media as to why the Steelers have elected to trade away their fifth-round picks in each of the past two seasons for players in a contract year. The answer is pretty simple: Pittsburgh has been historically horrible in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert know this. Here’s a look at all of the players the Steelers have taken in the fifth round since 2009, according to Pro Football Reference:
#Steelers 5th round picks since 2009:
Zach Gentry
Marcus Allen
Jaylen Samuels
Brian Allen
Jesse James
Shaq Richardson
Wesley Johnson
Terry Hawthorne
Chris Rainey
Chris Carter
Chris Scott
Crezdon Butler
Stevenson Sylvester
Frank Summers— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) March 23, 2020
While Jaylen Samuels and Jesse James are two recent success stories, Pittsburgh has hardly been good in the fifth round overall.