No NFL team has enjoyed the consistent level of success the Pittsburgh Steelers have enjoyed since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. Over the past 53 years, the Steelers have tallied 38 winning seasons, 32 playoff qualifying seasons, 24 division titles, eight AFC titles and six Super Bowl titles. The first franchise to win three, four, and six Super Bowls, the Steelers are still the only franchise to claim back-to-back Super Bowls on two separate occasions.
Over that span, Pittsburgh employed some of the greatest players in pro football history. Many of those players have gone on to earn induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Several players that had Hall of Fame worthy careers but are still waiting for their place in Canton have earned their rightful place in the team's Hall of Honor, which was created by team president Art Rooney II in 2017.
With the start of the 2023 season just around the corner, we decided to create a Steelers all-time 53-man roster, a roster that would be capable of beating just about any other team in NFL history. While a few tough decisions had to be made, we feel that this roster includes most of the team's great players over the decades, particularly over the past half century.
The biggest cuts made when making the list: Joey Porter, Greg Lloyd and Kordell Stewart. Lloyd and Stewart both played integral roles on Pittsburgh's 1995 AFC championship team. Porter was one of the key players on the Steelers' Super Bowl XL team. But when you only have 53 rosters spots to work with, tough decisions have to be made.
* denotes players that are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Offense
| Starter | Backup | Depth | |
|---|---|---|---|
QB | Terry Bradshaw* | ||
RB | Franco Harris* | Jerome Bettis* | |
FB | Rocky Bleier | ||
WR | John Stallworth* | ||
WR | Lynn Swann* | Louis Lipps | |
SWR | Hines Ward | ||
TE | Elbie Nickel | ||
LT | Jon Kolb | Dermontti Dawson* | |
LG | Alan Faneca* | Sam Davis | |
C | Mike Webster* | Dermontti Dawson* | |
RG | Maurkice Pouncey | ||
| RT | Larry Brown | Tunch Ilkin |
The roster starts with two quarterbacks who won a combined six Super Bowls in 32 seasons under center. Pittsburgh's backfield isn't too shabby either, as it includes Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris and two-time All-Pro Le'Veon Bell, who is also the franchise's single game regular and postseason rushing leader.
The strength of this unit might be at receiver with Hall of Famers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth leading the way. Along with Swann, Pittsburgh's receiving corps also includes two other former Super Bowl MVPs in Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Rounding out the group is Lipps, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and one of the rare players from the '80s that make the cut.
The offensive line features three Hall of Famers in Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Alan Faneca. Marukice Pouncey might be joining them one day after earning nine Pro Bowl nods during his 11 seasons in Pittsburgh.
Defense
| Starter | Backup | Depth | |
|---|---|---|---|
LDE | L.C. Greenwood | Aaron Smith | |
LDT | Joe Greene* | ||
NT | Casey Hampton | ||
RDT | Ernie Stautner* | Ernie Holmes | |
RDE | Dwight White | Aaron Smith | Cameron Heyward |
OLB | Jack Ham* | ||
Jack Lambert* | James Farrior | ||
MLB | Andy Russell | Levon Kirkland | |
OLB | Kevin Greene* | ||
LCB | Rod Woodson* | Jack Butler* | |
| RCB | Mel Blount* | Carnell Lake | |
FS | Mike Wagner | ||
| SS | Troy Polamalu* | Donnie Shell* | Carnell Lake |
You can't talk about the Steelers' defense without first discussing the team's famed "Steel Curtain" defensive line that consisted of Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White. The foursome dominated the Vikings in Super Bowl IX, shutting out Minnesota's offense and holding the Vikings to 17 yards rushing and 102 total yards.
Greene is one of seven Steelers defenders on this roster who won Defensive Player of the Year. A two-time winner, Greene is flanked by Mel Blount (1975), Jack Lambert (1976), Rod Woodson (1993), James Harrison (2010), Troy Polamalu (2008) and T.J. Watt (2020) as Steelers defenders who have won DPOY.
The defense includes three current Steelers in Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Heyward is currently second in franchise history in career sacks. Fitzpatrick is coming off his second All-Pro season since being traded to Pittsburgh from Miami early in the 2019 season.
Special Teams
| Starter | Backup | |
|---|---|---|
K | Gary Anderson | |
P | ||
LS | ||
PR | Antonio Brown | Santonio Holmes |
KR | Rod Woodson | Louis Lipps |
The Steelers' special teams unit is responsible for several iconic players in franchise history. A three-time Pro Bowler during his 13 years with the Steelers, Anderson's game-winning kick in overtime of Pittsburgh's 1989 wild-card win over Houston gave Chuck Noll his final playoff victory as the Steelers' head coach.
Brown returned four punts and one kickoff return for scores during his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, while Lipps led the NFL in punt return yardage as a rookie before pacing the league with two punt returns for scores the following season. Holmes' 67-yard punt return for a score helped the Steelers defeat the Chargers in the divisional round of the 2008 playoffs.
