The 10 Best Steelers Players of All Time, Ranked

It would not be a particularly controversial statement to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the most storied franchise in football, certainly since the NFL common era.

From a four-win Super Bowl dynasty in the 1970s to what has become the league’s longest streak without a losing season, the Steelers are the epitome of toughness, grit and stability. And, of course, a completely devoted fanbase.

With that in mind, let’s see who makes the list of Pittsburgh’s top 10 greatest players.

10. Cameron Heyward, DT

Years as a Steeler: 2011 – present
Championships & awards:

3-time First Team All-Pro (2017, 2019, 2021)
Second Team All-Pro (2020)
6-time Pro Bowl (2017-2022)
NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year (2023)

Career regular season stats:

200 games (165 starts)
672 total tackles
125 tackles for loss
83.5 sacks
8 forced fumbles
2 INTs
7 fumble recoveries

Career postseason stats:

8 games (7 starts)
19 total tackles
2 tackles for loss
1 sack
2 forced fumbles

Iconic performance: November 8, 2021, against the Chicago Bears, Heyward succeeded in picking off QB Justin Fields from almost impossibly close range for a pivotal play in a closely fought 29-27 win in Pittsburgh.

Cameron Heyward may not possess something that is widely held amongst members of this list: a Super Bowl trophy. However, now into his 14th year of service in a Steeler outfit, it is undebatable that the Ohio State alum is one of the best defensive linemen in Pittsburgh’s illustrious history. Second behind just former Defensive Player of the Year, TJ Watt on the Steelers’ all time sack list, Heyward has been one of the most consistent interior defensive lineman over the past decade-and-a-half, even if that has not translated into postseason success.

9. Alan Faneca, G

Years as a Steeler: 1998 – 2007
Championships & awards:

6-time First Team All-Pro (2001-2002,2004-2007)
Second Team All-Pro (2003)
7-time Pro Bowl (2001-2007)
Super Bowl champion (2005)

Career regular season stats:

158 games (153 starts)
8 fumble recoveries

Career postseason stats:

11 starts

Iconic performance: December 21, 2007 @ St. Louis Rams. Dominant offensive line performances often go under the radar relative to their offensive counterparts, but Alan Faneca led a ruthless display of power at the point of attack, ultimately leading to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s perfect passer rating in a convincing 41-23 win.

All-time football encyclopedia Brian Baldinger calls Faneca the “greatest pulling guard of all time. And in a world now dominated by the outside run, “wide zone” running scheme by the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, it is no doubt that Faneca’s mobility as an interior offensive lineman sets him apart from his contemporaries as a pioneer of the position. The eventual 9-time Pro Bowler protected prize quarterbacking asset Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers found glory in the 2005 Super Bowl.

8. Rod Woodson, DB

Years as a Steeler: 1987 – 1996
Championships & awards:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1993)
5-time First Team All-Pro (1989-1990,1992-1994)
2-time Second Team All-Pro (1991,1996)
7-time Pro Bowl (1989-1994,1996)
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (2009)

Career regular season stats:

134 games (125 starts)
671 total tackles
13.5 sacks
16 forced fumbles
38 INTs
21 fumble recoveries
6 defensive touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

8 games (7 starts)
19 total tackles
1 INT

Iconic performance: October 17, 1993, against the New Orleans Saints. Woodson intercepted Saints quarterback Wade Wilson twice in back-to-back opening drives, en route to winning the 1993 Defensive Player of the Year award.

Rod Woodson is yet another member of this list who never managed to hoist a Lombardi Trophy in Pittsburgh, although he did put together a highly impressive performance in the 1996 Super Bowl in which he shut down Hall of Fame Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin despite ultimately losing 27-17 to “America’s Team.” One of the league’s greatest ever ball-hawks was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, and eventually managed to achieve that elusive Super Bowl victory with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

7. Jack Lambert, LB

Years as a Steeler: 1974-1984
Championships & awards:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1976)
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1974)
6-time First Team All-Pro (1976, 1979-1983)
2-time Second Team All-Pro (1975,1978)
9-time Pro Bowl (1975-1983)
4-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978,1979)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1990)

Career regular season stats:

146 games (138 starts)
1441 total tackles
23.5 sacks
16 forced fumbles
28 INTs
17 fumble recoveries

Career postseason stats:

18 games (17 starts)
23 total tackles
1 INT
3 fumble recoveries

Iconic performance: January 20, 1980, against the Los Angeles Rams. Lambert cut off a Ron Smith rout to pick off Rams QB Vince Ferragamo and set up a game-sealing touchdown drive from Terry Bradshaw.

Jack Lambert, considered by many to be the toughest, scariest, and for some even the greatest middle linebacker of all time, could have been even higher on this list, were it not for a career-ending toe injury that forced him to retire after the 1984 season. Stacking up four Lombardi trophies at the height of the Steelers dynasty, Lambert embodies the old-school, hard-hitting linebacker that headlined Pittsburgh’s famously stingy “Steel Curtain” defense throughout the 1970s.

6. Franco Harris

Years as a Steeler: 1972-1983
Championships & awards:

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1972)
First Team All-Pro (1977)
2-time Second Team All-Pro (1972,1975)
9-time Pro Bowl (1972-1980)
4-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978,1979)
Super Bowl MVP (1974)
NFL Man of the Year (1977)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1990)

Career regular season stats:

165 games (156 starts)
2881 carries
11950 yards
91 rushing touchdowns
306 catches
2284 receiving yards
9 receiving touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

19 starts
400 carries
1556 rushing yards
16 rushing touchdowns
51 receptions
504 yards
1 receiving touchdown

Iconic performance: December 23, 1972, against the Oakland Raiders. Franco made one of the most famous plays of all time in the “Immaculate Reception,” where — with only seconds left in the game — he caught a pass that had ricocheted off of Raiders safety Jack Tatum and ran in for a game-winning touchdown.

Best known for the aforementioned “Immaculate Reception,” Franco Harris is in a two-way battle against fellow Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis, for greatest running back in Steelers history. In this instance, we’ve gone for Harris, the powerful fullback who still owns franchise records in carries, yards and rushing touchdowns, who ultimately helped drive the Steelers to victory in four Super Bowls.

5. Troy Polamalu, DB

Years as a Steeler: 2003 – 2014
Championships & awards:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2010)
4-time First Team All-Pro (2005, 2008, 2010-2011)
2-time Second Team All-Pro (2004, 2007)
8-time Pro Bowl (2004-2008, 2010, 2011, 2013)
2-time Super Bowl champion (2005, 2008)
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (2020)

Career regular season stats:

158 games (142 starts)
783 total tackles
12 sacks
14 forced fumbles
32 INTs
7 fumble recoveries
5 defensive touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

8 games (7 starts)
19 total tackles
1 INT

Iconic performance: September 19, 2010, against the Tennessee Titans. Polamalu’s unprecedented trademark jump over the line of scrimmage to tackle the quarterback, in a display of sheer athleticism and power, was best exemplified in this goal line stoppage of QB, Kerry Collins.

Troy Polamalu, along with rival Baltimore Ravens’ Ed Reed, ushered in a new era of hard-hitting, powerful, yet ultra-athletic safety play that dominated the beginning of the 21st century. A two-time Super Bowl winner that was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Polamalu was one of the first true all around game-changing safeties, whose mark can still be seen on the modern game.

4. Ben Roethlisberger, QB

Years as a Steeler: 2004-2021
Championships & awards:

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2004)
6-time Pro Bowl (2007, 2011, 2014-2017)
2-time NFL Passing Yards Leader (2014, 2018)
2-time Super Bowl champion (2004, 2008)

Career regular season stats:

249 games (247 starts)
165-81-1 record
64.4% completion percentage
64,088 passing yards
418 passing touchdowns
211 INTs
1,373 rushing yards
20 rushing touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

23 starts
13-10 record
63.2% completion percentage
5972 passing yards
36 passing touchdowns
28 INTs
245 rushing yards
3 rushing touchdowns

Iconic performance: November 2, 2014, where “Big Ben” threw for an astounding 6 touchdowns in a 340 yard game against divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.

Many chastise Ben Roethlisberger for being perhaps not the hardest worker in the dressing room, yet his almost 2 decade legacy to the organization is irrefutable. Known for being the king of “backyard football,” the future Hall of Famer lead the Steelers to the final 2 of what was at the time an NFL-leading six Super Bowls (now tied by the New England Patriots) and was the face of the franchise for 18 years.

3. Mel Blount, DB

Years as a Steeler: 1970-1983
Championships & awards:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1975)
2-time First Team All-Pro (1975,1981)
4-time Second Team All-Pro (1975,1979)
5-time Pro Bowl (1975,)
NFL interceptions leader (1975)
4-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978,1979)
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1989)

Career regular season stats:

200 games (189 starts)
0.5 sacks
57 INTs
13 fumble recoveries
4 defensive touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

19 starts
4 INTs

Iconic performance: December 10, 1977, against the Cincinnati Bengals. The game ended up being a main driver toward the implementation of the “Mel Blount Rule,” after Blount unintentionally broke a receiver’s jaw in his aggressive pass coverage.

Mel Blount, often regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks to ever play – period, was the most feared cornerback in the game in the 1970s and ’80s due to his aggressive, sticky man-to-man coverage. His work later became the catalyst for the “Mel Blount Rule,” brought into the NFL in 1978, and helped the Steelers in their Steel Curtain dynasty of the 70s.

2. Terry Bradshaw

Years as a Steeler: 1970-1983
Championships & awards:

NFL MVP (1978)
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2004)
First Team All-Pro (1978)
3-time Pro Bowl (1975, 1978-79)
2-time NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader (1978,1982)
4-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978,1979)
2-time Super Bowl MVP (1978,1979)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1989)

Career regular season stats:

168 games (158 starts)
107-51 record
51.9% completion percentage
27,989 passing yards
212 passing touchdowns
210 INTs
2257 rushing yards
32 rushing touchdowns

Career postseason stats:

19 starts
14-5 record
57.2% completion percentage
3833 passing yards
30 passing touchdowns
26 INTs
274 rushing yards
3 rushing touchdowns

Iconic performance: January 18, 1978, against the Dallas Cowboys, where Bradshaw hit a dime to wideout Lynn Swan in a 64 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put a lid on 14 answered Steeler points to win the 1976 Super Bowl.

Don’t let Bradshaw’s perhaps underwhelming seeming statistics deceive you; he is without question of the best quarterbacks of NFL era. Despite some growing pains to start his career, including some erratic, interception heavy spells, Bradshaw fought off internal competition to secure his spot in the lineup, and ultimately guided Pittsburgh to their first 4 Lombardi trophies

1. ‘Mean’ Joe Greene, DT

Years as a Steeler: 1969 – 1981
Championships & awards:

2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1972,1974)
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1969)
5-time First Team All-Pro (1972-1974,1977,1979)
3-time Second Team All-Pro (1971,1975,1976)
10-time Pro Bowl (1969-1976,1978,1979)
4-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978,1979)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
NFL Man of the Year (1979)

Career regular season stats:

181 games (172 starts)
77.5 sacks
1 INT
16 fumble recoveries

Career postseason stats:

17 starts
7 sacks
1 INT
2 fumble recoveries

Iconic performance: January 12, 1975, against the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX, where Greene recorded a forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception, in a 16-6 win.

Joe Greene, nicknamed “Mean” due his being, well – not fun play against, is one of the most disruptive internal defensive lineman in the history of the National Football League, rivaled by perhaps only Reggie White and Aaron Donald. Greene helped turn around what was once one of the worst franchises in the NFL, and helped surmount it to its current immense stature. His “lead from the front” mentality embodied the Steeler way, and he is truly the greatest Pittsburgh Steeler of all time.

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