The Steelers have a culture that makes them one of the best organizations in the league. Their players don't mouth off, the locker room polices itself, and the veterans keep younger players in line.

I think it's more about - for most guys coming out of college - landing in a place where you're in a position to succeed. You take a guy who was not that great of a college player, and put him on the Steelers defense. He's in a great situation, he's with mature guys and on a good defense, he'll grow. On the other hand, you take a decent college player and put him on the Oakland Raiders, he won't grow.

It's not that the draft is a big game of Stratego and the Steelers never hit the bombs. Their culture is the major part what makes them successful, I think.

Yep.

solid draft picks + solid coaching = 0 busts

Colts:

09 Donald Brown
08 no first- Polllack in second
07 Anthony Gonzales
06 Joeseph Addai
05 Marlin Jackson
04 no first bob sanders in second
03 Dallas Clark
02 Dwight Freeney
01 Reggie Wayne

Patriots:

09 no first 4 seconds: Pat chung, Ron Brace, Darius Butler, Sebastian Vollmer
08 Jarrod Mayo
07 Brandon Mariwether
06 Lawrence Maroney
05 Logan Mankins
04 Vince Wilfork, Ben Watson
03 Ty Warren
02 Daniel Graham
01 Richard Seymour

Baltimore Ravens:

09 Oher
08 Flacco
07 Ben Grubbs
06 Haloti Ngata
05 Mark Clayton
04 no first
03 Terrel Suggs, Kyle Boller
02 Ed Reed
01 Todd Heap

Chiefs:

09 Tyson Jackson
08 Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Albert
07 Dwayne Bowe
06 Tamba Hali
05 Derrick Johnson
04 no first Siavii second
03 Larry Johnson
02 Ryan Sims
01 no first or second

Yep, I think the Steelers have been the most consistently good franchise during my lifetime (70s through now). I mean, how crazy is it to imagine that since 1969 ... they have only had 3 Head Coaches. There are a half dozen or more teams with more than that in the last decade. Noll took over in 1969 and his first 3 years weren't that great, but things took the turn in 1972. Since that time (37 season), 27 of those seasons (including 2009, because it will happen) - the Steelers have had 9 or more wins. Think about it, 9+ wins in 27 of the last 37 seasons - that's great! There was a span of years in the late 80s when the Steelers were inconsistent, but that immediately changed in 1992 when Cowher took over. Cowher only had 3 losing seasons during his 15 year tenure, but he had 9 double digit win seasons with a SB Title. Nolan, Cowher and Tomlin all have SB rings. They have a philosophy and they stick with it... they have a true identity. Every team has their off years and they haven't been immune to that either, but they do not get stuck in the mud for long.

Also, a lot of it is (as someone also mentioned) the stability in the organization. Included in that, is scouting. I think they do a great job at scouting/doing all their due diligence in preparation for the draft, then analyze their board as it compares to value/production etc. Is the guy a ‘contributor’? or a play maker etc.

I agree – the last few 1st rounders for the Chiefs, although not ‘exciting’, were not necessarily reaches at the time (sans Jackson). This is where I think the Chiefs scouting has left a lot to be desired.

That summary of Pittsburgh’s 1st rounders shows they grab playmakers at key positions. We obviously won’t be able to determine the pick of Iggy for a few years, but everyone else on that list has been a MAJOR contributor to their championship teams – not simply complimentary players for an uncertain direction/focus of a team such as the Chiefs. This goes back to stability IMO. Our constant shuffling of D coordinators, O Coordinators, HCs etc brings a ‘new direction’ each year.

I look at Denver's recent drafts... and, well... it's painful... 2008 was good. 2007 was horrific. 2006 was great, but two of them are now gone. 2005/2004/2003 were bad. Not a lot of shock as to why there is such a young nucleus, their drafts have for the most part just sucked.

It also appears that the Colts, Steelers, Pats etc, don’t over pay their RB’s either. They draft a play maker at the RB position, use him, then seem to move onto the next one. Which, (most likely) , frees up committed salary dollars to apply towards franchise-type players while continually replenishing the talent at other key positions

Ravens have been the most talented team by far. They draft the best. Trouble is they have never had a franchise QB, maybe Flacco becomes that guy but that is the major key.

It all start and ends with ownership

The point is not "not reaching" as much as it is getting something for your picks.

In the long term, if you spend a first round pick on someone 10 slots too early, that's not so bad as long as that player becomes a productive starter. If Tyson Jackson starts at DE for 5 years and is an average to above average NFL starter, some people will still cry about it, but he will have been an OK pick. Those don't kill your franchise. The killers are not the reaches, they are the guys who are gone in 2 or 3 years and who you never got any productive use out of.

I would like to see a report of the average service time each NFL team gets out of all draft its picks at all slots, regardless of round. I bet we can guess that teams like the Steelers are at the top, and teams like the Chiefs are at the bottom.

good post if you change the 5 to a 12

Chicken v. Egg. Would they be good players on other teams, or did the team that drafted help the player?

You can take the Browns as a team that drafted a lot of "great players" (by final draft grades and rankings) and yet the team struggles and players don't produce.

Good scouting and good coaching is key. With Pioli I am confident the scouting has improved and so far I believe the coaching has improved eventhough I am far from satisfied. Only time will tell.

But, they have hit gold at WR, OT, LB, and QB. Meanwhile the Chiefs have drafted 7 first day Dlinemen in the last few years with only 2 still on the team. That more than anything IMO has killed this team.

Exactly!