The Pittsburgh Steelers swung an intriguing trade this week with Week 1 around the corner. Pittsburgh traded Broderick Jones and a fourth-rounder to the Dallas Cowboys, receiving a third- and a sixth-round pick in return.
Cutting ties with Jones isn’t entirely a surprise. The former Georgia Bulldogs star struggled in the NFL during his time in the Steel City. Trading him still came as a bit of a shock, though, as few expected this sort of move to materialize.
But as Pittsburgh cut bait on the former first-round pick, attention quickly turned to the franchise’s recent track record with top-shelf talent.
Mike Tomlin’s Draft History Ripped By Fans After Steelers’ Broderick Jones Trade
This specific conversation was started by NFL analyst Andrew Fillipponi. He shared a screenshot of Pittsburgh’s first-round pick history ranging from 2018 to 2023.
In Fillipponi’s view, Pittsburgh’s work in the draft during this span was not up to par.
“Look at this horrendous stretch of 1st-round picks under Mike Tomlin by the Steelers. 6 years. No one left with the team. Honestly. If someone asks how the Steelers have gone almost a decade without a playoff win, show them this. It’s embarrassing,” Fillipponi said.
Look at this horrendous stretch of 1st round picks under Mike Tomlin by the Steelers. 6 years. No one left with the team. Honestly. If someone asks how in the Hell the Steelers have gone almost a decade without a playoff win, show them this. It’s embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/tHtm21vkqO
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress)
Fans across the football world came together to agree with Fillipponi. One writer for The Athletic, Josh Yohe, called this stretch of first-round picks “staggeringly bad.” Another NFL fan said this was “egregious incompetence” on behalf of Tomlin and the Steelers.
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Pittsburgh was relatively consistent during this run. Tomlin, who resigned from the head coaching role back in the winter, never had a losing season in charge.
From 2018 to 2023, Pittsburgh made the playoffs three times. In 2020, they even won the AFC North with a 12-4 record. However, they failed to win a playoff game in any of those appearances.
In fact, the lack of playoff wins was a concerning trend for the Steelers under Tomlin.
Pittsburgh’s last playoff victory came 10 years ago in the 2016 season. The Steelers made the playoffs six times after the 2016 season, but failed to win a single postseason contest.
Pittsburgh has a new coach in Mike McCarthy now. With a new head coach comes a new perspective on all things team building and roster construction. Perhaps this change is what the Steelers need to get over the playoff hump.
