Choosing the Steelers All-Quarter Century Team, Offense Edition
In the most recent episode of the Pittsburgh Standard Time podcast, Greg Benevent and I came up with our All-Quarter Century Team for the Pittsbught Steelers on offense. To add to the challenge in some areas, we came up with a first and second team.
Just to give a reminder, these players were selected based on their time with the Steelers for the years 2000 through 2024.
First Team
QB: Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Jerome Bettis
RB: Le’Veon Bell
FB: Dan Kreider
TE: Heath Miller
WR: Antonio Brown
WR: Hines Ward
C: Maurkice Pouncey
G: Alan Faneca
G: David DeCastro
T: Max Starks
T: Alejandro Villanueva
Selecting the first team quarterback was a no-brainer in Ben Roethlisberger. When it came to running back, we weren’t sure if we should include one or two. Since Greg picked Le’Veon Bell and I went with Jerome Bettis due to his 50 rushing touchdowns since 2000, it made sense to just go ahead and do two running backs.
It’s not always easy to remember fullbacks, but Dan Kreider was the obvious choice. In the category of other obvious choices, Heath Miller at tight end along with Antonio Brown and Hines Ward at wide receiver also fell into that category. So did the first three spots on the offensive line with center Maurkice Pouncy, and guards Alan Faneca and David DeCastro.
Choosing offensive tackles was a different story. We were able to name our top four players, but choosing which ones to put on the first team versus the second team was not an easy decision. Ultimately we went with my choices of Max Starks and Alejandro Villanueva.
Moving onto the second team…
Second Team
QB: Kordell Stewart
RB: Willie Parker
RB: Najee Harris
FB: Roosevelt Nix
TE: Pat Freiermuth
WR: Santonio Holmes
WR: Mike Wallace
C: Jeff Hartings
G: Ramon Foster
G: Kendall Simmons
T: Marvel Smith
T: Marcus Gilbert
There were really only two choices at quarterback for the second team in Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox. Both started 32 regular season games for the Steelers, but Stewart had 23 wins compared to Maddox with 15. Plus, Kordell Stewart was really before his time in the NFL and if the Steelers could have 2000 Stewart right now it would really be something to see.
The first choice at running back was easy with Willie Parker as he actually has the most rushing yards for the Steelers over the last 25 seasons. The other running back spot came down to Najee Harris or Rashard Mendenhall. Ultimately, we picked Harris based on his uncharacteristic availability as well as projecting how he would have performed in the backfield on Mendenhall’s teams. As for fullback, we were both fans of Roosevelt Nix so we threw him on there as we struggled to remember any other fullbacks to consider.
Tight end was one of those positions were both choices were easy as the first team was obviously Heath Miller and the second team was obviously Pat Freieruth. Wide receiver had a number of options but we chose to go with the Super Bowl MVP and the dynamic ability of Mike Wallace over player such as Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Plaxico Burress.
Believe it or not, the offensive line was fairly simple to come up with the rest of the players. Jeff Hardings was obviously the second best center the Steelers had in the last 25 years as Zach Frazier only has one year under his belt. Ramon Foster started more games as an offensive lineman for the Steelers in the last 25 years than anybody else, and we both struggled to come up with anybody else other than Kendall Simmons to fill out the roster. As I said before, we struggled on which tackles to put on which team and ultimately decided on Marvel Smith and Marcus Gilbert for the second team. For me, Marcus Gilbert is one of the most underrated offensive lineman the Steelers had over the last 25 years as he should have been selected to at least one, if not multiple, Pro Bowls.
So what do you think? What would you change on these lists? Make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned for next week when we tackle the defense.
For more of the discussion, check out the most recent episode of Pittsburgh Standard Time below:
This is borderline not debatable. I can’t think of one position I would change! Fun stuff
No changes, two well-conceived lists. Eager to see the defenses.
I initially thought of Jon Witman from a FB perspective, but when I looked it up he played most of his career in the 90’s. He was better than Nix, mostly because back then FB actually had a role. He had a bout 500 yards from scrimmage vs Nix’s 69 (and zero yards rushing) Nix did get a Pro Bowl, and he played all his time in the 2000’s, so he probably gets the nod.
Just throwing Whitman out here so he doesn’t get forgotten.
I’ll add that I still rock my Rosie Nix jersey on occasion; I don’t have a Witman jersey 😉
We mentioned Whitman on the podcast, so he wasn’t totally forgotten.
I would have Kelvin Beacham on the first team and Big AL on the second team. Other than that I like these lists.
Beachum was my favorite player while he was here, but he only started double-digit games in 2 seasons. It doesn’t hold up to those other 4 guys. Plus Villanueva had 2 Pro Bowl seasons in Pittsburgh. It’s really hard to make a case for that change.
Can’t argue with much. Great job. Only thing to debate is, as you mention, the Tackle position. Interesting to see the challenge that position has been and for how many years. I wonder if that fact influenced Khan and Weidl’s “hill or high water, we’re gonna draft one” philosophy over those couple drafts. Like they were having s beer and one of them asked, “Who was the last, true star OT this franchise has had?”
To that effect, I think Marvel Smith was better than Max Starks. His career just ended up too short. But I’d still have him as the best, though. I also would choose Beechum over Gilbert. I know he turned out to be really good, but I just can’t forget how many of his teammates he injured! 😂
Are you talking about Gilbert? Who did he injure?
Decastro was the big one. But there were others. I remember the threads on another site where we were all joking about making sure he lined up in the parking lot to preserve the rest of the line.
Speaking of Quarter Century Teams, Who would you people pick for your NFL Quarter Century Team? I’m asking about all the players you people have seen over the last 25 years and place them on your team.