Was the Steelers’ 1974 draft class the greatest in pro football history? Here’s a closer look
The 2026 NFL Draft is just eight days away, and as the Steelers work to bring in players to help them reach another Super Bowl, we’re taking a look at what’s arguably the greatest draft in pro football history. Channel 11 Sports Director Jenna Harner spoke with Joe Horrigan, a former Pro Football Hall of Fame executive director and historian, for a closer look. Click here for more Pittsburgh Steelers coverage from Channel 11.
“This is a tribute to that scouting department of the Pittsburgh Steelers that found the Jack Lamberts, that brought in all the Lynn Swann and the John Stallworths. There was a really, really good machine going on there,” Horrigan said. A machine that would select not one, not two, but four Hall of Famers in the first five rounds and add another as an undrafted free agent.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> A look at how first-round pick Joe Greene redefined the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise Their first selection at 20th overall was wide receiver Lynn Swann. “He was one of the toughest players that people just don’t understand that because, again…they think he’s not tough - he is as tough as nails,” Horrigan said. In Round Two, it was Kent State linebacker Jack Lambert.
In his first season, Lambert was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and just two seasons later, he won Defensive Player of the Year. “He defined, he epitomized what you expected from that middle linebacker with the ferocious look, the ferocious play. He had a motor win all the time, just pure heart that really propelled him and propelled him as a good word, because he propelled his way into a lot of chests in his career,” Horrigan said.
Throughout the draft process, Head Coach Chuck Noll was incredibly high on another wide receiver and in the fourth round, the Steelers drafted Alabama A&M’s John Stallworth. Alongside Swann, the two would go on to terrorize opposing secondaries. “They were almost interchangeable parts, different skill sets, but they were the one two and most teams, particularly today in the free agency, can’t afford to have those two superlative ends on the same team at the same time.